Demonic Romeo
by pastaaddict
Summary: Linked to Big in Japan! A demon and an angel meet in battle and a forbidden love blossoms but how long before the wrong people find out and both are put in danger? Warning:Mentions of car accidents, gun shots and death. Picture created by Bluefaytart!
1. Vol I

**I decided put this up despite not being finished yet. Fingers crossed, I get this completed quickly now. Anyone who's read _Big in_ Japan will recognise the link to this. I had a little fun with the names. I put the names on Google translate in the language of the countries they represent and translated them to Japanese (because this is meant to be a manga) and this is what it gave me!**

 _ **Translated to – Translated from - Country**_

 **Arufureddo _(Japanese) –_ Alfred _(English) -_ America**

 **Āsā _(Japanese) –_ Arthur _(English)_ \- England**

 **Mashū _(Japanese)_ – Matthieu/Matthew _(French/English)_ \- Canada**

 **Girubāto _(Japanese) –_ Gilbert _(German)_ \- Prussia**

 **Ansonī _(Japanese)_ – Antonio _(Spanish)_ \- Spain**

 **Furanshisu _(Japanese)_ – Francis _(French)_ \- France**

 **Rōman _(Japanese) –_ Romano _(Italian) –_ South Italy**

 **Ferishiāno _(Japanese)_ – Feliciano _(Italian) –_ North Italy**

 **Roderich _(Japanese)_ – Roderich _(German)_ \- Austria**

 **Iwan _(Japanese) –_ Ivan _(Russian)_ \- Russia**

 **Rutovu~ihi _(Japanese)_ – Ludwig _(German)_ \- Germany**

 **U~Orufugangu ( _Japanese_ ) – Wolfgang _(German)_ \- Germania**

 **Romyurasu _(Japanese)_ – Romulus _(Italian) –_ Roman Empire**

 **Bāto·-tatchi· torio** **_(Japanese) –_ Bad-Touch-Trio _(English)_**

 **Bāto·-tatchi· karutetto** _**(Japanese)**_ **– Bad-Touch-Quartet** _ **(English)**_

 **Bāto·-tatchi· kuintetto** _ **(Japanese)**_ **– Bad-Touch-Quintet** _ **(English**_ **)**

 **Well, here we go! Enjoy!**

 **Warning: Mentions car accidents and death!**

It was two years after the Japan Tour and a lot of things had changed for Arthur Kirkland, lead singer of Revenant. His now fiancé, manga author, Kiku Honda had moved from Japan to England to be with Arthur in London. He had finished _Demonic Romeo_ , which was now a anime with English translation and he was now working on his new yaoi manga _Backstage Pass_ , inspired by his romance with Arthur and right now he was working on his latest draft to send to his editor in Japan.

Arthur stood in the doorway to the office he had put in for Kiku's work, watching his fiancé putting the finishing touches to one of the characters. Kiku sat up from his work and stretched, then spotted Arthur from the corner of his eye.

"I'm retiring for the night, Kiku," Arthur said.

"I just need to finish this to send to Japan tomorrow," Kiku replied. "Then I'll join you." He noticed Arthur was holding his volumes of _Demonic Romeo_. "I thought you had already read all that!" Arthur smiled, sheepishly.

"I love your new manga," he said. "But _Demonic Romeo_ will always be my favourite. It's thanks to that I met you. By the way, I couldn't help but notice that some of your characters resemble certain band members of mine." Kiku blushed lightly.

"I began _Demonic Romeo_ just as Revenant became popular in Japan," he replied. "You inspired me."

"And any reason the two main characters are like Alfred and I?"

"There was that rumour that was in all the music magazines at the time."

"Ah!" Arthur remembered the rumour that he and Alfred were dating. As if! It would have been like dating his own brother. Arthur went over to Kiku and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"Don't stay up too late," he ordered and left the room.

Arthur changed into his sleeping gear, brushed his teeth and settled down in bed. He opened his book and began to read.

 _ **Demonic Romeo Vol I**_

Arufureddo was bored. He walked through Hell, seeing the same old sights, the same old demons, hearing the same old screams from the punishment pits and Arufureddo was so, so tired of it all, despite not being in Hell for very long. He wanted something different. He just did not know what.

Arufureddo was quite handsome for a demon. He had bright blue eyes that peered from behind half-rimmed glasses, a remnant from when he was alive and his hair had the cowlick he had in life. There were differences though. He had been blonde in life but now his hair was raven black with two black horns that curled round his head and he had two large, leathery, reptilian wings sprouting from his back and a snake-like, forked tail that flicked through the air and he wore the clothes that he had died in. A black suit.

He had been attending his brother's funeral.

His brother, Mashū, had been diagnosed with cancer and given a short time left to live. Arufureddo had been offered a deal by a man called Iwan who turned out to be a demon. Arufureddo gave up his soul to save his brother from cancer but Mashū died in a car accident instead. On the way back from Mashū's funeral, Arufureddo's car had gone off the road and he had been killed.

Since then, he had been a demon, serving darkness and punishing the sinful. Someone who sold their soul to a demon would become one after death but someone who corrupted their soul without demon intervention went to Hell to be punished. Arufureddo had naturally felt cheated as he had given up his soul but his brother had still died and Arufureddo had lost everything. His brother! His life! His soul! He partly blamed Heaven for it. It seemed that everyone was born with a set time to live and, although demons could affect the order of things, Heaven would find a way to put things right.

Heaven could have just left Mashū alone? Why did it not?

He also hated Iwan who had carefully worded the deal so that Iwan would prevent Mashū from _dying of cancer!_ He never said anything about preventing Mashū from dying some other way. He was still brooding when ….

"Arufureddo!"

Above the punishment pits, Arufureddo could see his friend, Girubāto, flying through the air toward him. The Prussian had white, reptilian wings and tail that matched his white hair, his horns matched his red eyes, wearing a blue Prussian uniform. He had died during World War II when he sold his soul in order to save the army group he was commanding. He got them to safety and then caught the wrong end of an artillery shell. When Arufureddo first came down, Girubāto had, quite literally, taken the new young demon under his wing.

The albino demon landed in front of Arufureddo with a big grin on his face.

"What's happening?" Arufureddo asked.

"Me, Ansonī and Furanshisu are going up top," Girubāto smirked. "Going to mess with a couple of angels out 'doing good'." Girubāto made air quotes around 'doing good'. Girubāto, Ansonī and Furanshisu used to be known as the Bāto·-tatchi· torio. When Arufureddo joined the gang, they became the Bāto·-tatchi· karutetto.

"Want to come?" Arufureddo shrugged. He had nothing else to do.

"What kind of angels?" he asked.

"Guardian."

"Let's go steal what they're guarding!" Arufureddo replied, making Girubāto raise an eyebrow as Arufureddo was yet to corrupt any innocent soul but Arufureddo thought it might be a good idea to ward off the suspicion that it just did not appeal to him. "Maybe we can grab a couple of angels while we're at it."

* * *

"Why do you let yourself get pushed around by the Piano Bastard, idiota?" Rōman Vargas groused as he and his younger brother, Ferishiāno walked down the street, unaware that they were being followed by their own unseen and unheard, white-robed guardian angels.

The two brothers looked very similar to each other except Rōman was the eldest with dark red-brown hair and caramel eyes while Ferishiāno's hair was more auburn and his eyes were amber. Both had wayward curls springing out at the sides of their heads, Rōman's on the right side, Ferishiāno's on the left.

"Ve~," Ferishiāno replied. "He's my boss. I have to do what he says." Ferishiāno worked for an Austrian called Roderich Edelstein who owned the Music Box shop and he was a difficult man to work for but the job had its upside. Roderich was extremely gifted on the piano and he would sometimes play in the shop, to the delight of the customers and Ferishiāno. Ferishiāno's guardian angel, Mashū loved to listen too.

"You can always work in the restaurant, you know," Rōman suggested. "Nonno would have loved that!" Nonno was their grandfather, Romyurasu Vargas, the only family they had after their parents had died and he had opened _Cielo Italiano_. He had died a few years ago and left the restaurant to his two grandsons and Ferishiāno owned half the restaurant but had wanted to try something new.

"Ve~ I'll think about it," he promised. His guardian angel, Mashū, smiled.

"He'll be an angel when the time comes," he said to the other angel, his mentor and friend, Āsā.

This was Mashū's first assignment as a guardian angel. He had just above shoulder-length, blonde hair with a wayward strand that stuck out and curled down between his violet eyes. A pair of wings with beautiful white plumage grew from his back.

"He's a true pure soul," his companion agreed. "If he stays like this, Heaven will welcome him with open arms." Āsā, a veteran angel, was also blonde with emerald eyes, capped with the biggest eyebrows ever seen and usually wore a scowl on his face. Sometimes he would think of something that would soften his face but these moments were few and far between. He also possessed a pair of magnificent white wings.

"What about Rōman?" Mashū was not sure about him. "He seems a little hostile and ….. foul-mouthed?"

"So was I," Āsā chuckled. "Don't let his attitude fool you. He loves his brother but he never shows his true feelings. Believe me, he has a good heart and a good soul. Heaven won't reject him for little idiosyncrasies. All I have to do is make sure he doesn't stray from the light."

"I'm sure you'll …..." Āsā stopped and held up his hand, indicating for Mashū to be quiet. He scanned the buildings around them and immediately went on alert.

"There are demons nearby," he warned.

* * *

Arufureddo looked down from the roof-top as he and the rest of the Bāto·-tatchi· karutetto watched the two humans being followed by the two angels. Ansonī was a Spanish demon with brown hair and green eyes who had died during the Spanish Civil War where he had sold his soul for the safety of his family. He was dressed in brown and his horns, wings and tail were a darker brown. Furanshisu was French with long, blonde hair and blue eyes and his devilish appendages were dark blue/grey. He had sold his soul to save his wife, Jeanne, from dying from a heart condition but she died in a fire instead. All were Iwan's deals.

The others were ready to go in for the attack but the humans and the angels needed to be closer. Then Arufureddo saw one of the angels stop and make a hand gesture to the other, looking around at the buildings.

"He knows," he said, indicating the now alert angel. Girubāto grinned.

"Let's not disappoint," he replied, with a smirk.

The Bāto·-tatchi· karutetto attacked.

* * *

Rōman and Ferishiāno were completely unaware of what was going on above their heads but their guardian angels took to the air, producing golden bows and arrows as the demons swooped in. They split up and the demons divided too. The black and brown-haired demons facing Āsā, the blonde and white-haired ones confronting Mashū. Mashū moved his bow left and right, trying to keep both demons covered with his arrow as they moved toward him, both carrying swords, the blonde, a fencing sword and the albino, a broadsword. He fired his arrow but both demons dodged it and when they turned back, the arrow was back in the bow.

"My, my," he heard the white-haired demon say with a German accent. "You're a fierce little birdie, aren't you. Imagine what you could do, corrupting souls. You'd make a cute demon, what do you say, Furanshisu?"

"Hon hon hon," The blonde demon laughed, clearly French "He would be absolutely adorable, not that he isn't now. Why not come with us, petit oiseau mignon (c _ute little bird_ )? We'll take very good care of you!"

"I'll never be a demon!" Mashū declared and fired off another arrow. Both demons dodged it and began circling the angel like airborne sharks.

* * *

Arufureddo observed his enemy and thought it was a pity he was an angel, he was kind of cute even with the large eyebrows. His blonde bed-head hair and his bright green eyes were adorable and not at all marred by the scowl on his face as he aimed his bow at him and Ansonī.

"There are over six billion souls in the world," Arufureddo commented, gripping a pistol, his weapon of choice. "Do you really want to get hurt, fighting over a mere two?" Āsā's scowl deepened.

"Every soul is precious," he sneered. "Not that I'd expect you to know that since you clearly sold yours. For what! Fame! Fortune! Power! Was it worth it?"

"None of your business!" Arufureddo snapped. Āsā had clearly struck an nerve and he wondered what the demon's story was. It was a pity he was a demon, though. With a face like that, he would have been a beautiful angel but Āsā's priority right now was to protect the Vargas Brothers until they got safely out of the way.

"Cute little friend you have there, amigo," Ansonī said with a smile as he held his battle-axe ready. "And I'm not talking about the other angel." Ansonī looked down at Rōman and Āsā immediately flew to put himself between the demons and the Vargas Brothers.

"You'll get him over my cold dead body," he declared, aiming the arrow at Ansonī's chest. Arufureddo had a feeling the angel was going to say that.

"Pity," he commented and he and Ansonī flew in to attack.

* * *

As this was Mashū's first assignment, this was also his first fight against demons and he was facing two of them. He knew he was out of his league and the demons were just toying with him so he concentrated on keeping them busy long enough for Rōman and Ferishiāno to get as far away from danger as they could. He fired off arrow after arrow and the demons dodged his attempts, laughing as they did so. He finally made his mistake while taking aim at the white-haired demon, not realizing that the blonde one was coming up behind him until he was grabbed from behind, the demon's arms pinning his arms and his wings against his body and the demon's wings flapping to keep them aloft.

"You put up a good fight, Birdie," Girubāto commented. "Cute and determined! Imagine the souls you could corrupt! What do you say, Furanshisu? Time for The Bāto·-tatchi· karutetto to become The Bāto·-tatchi· kuintetto?" Furanshisu leant forward until his lips were almost touching the shell of Mashū's ear.

"Undoubtedly, Girubāto," Furanshisu breathed, making Mashū shiver. "I can't wait to induct this sweet little bird into our _intimate_ little group." Girubāto flew up to Mashū and cupped his cheek.

"You're going to have so much fun, Birdie," he said and pecked Mashū on the lips.

* * *

Āsā was doing a good job of holding the demons off as the Vargas brothers got further and further away. Arufureddo had to admit that he was impressed with the angel's fighting skills and speed, dodging his bullets and Ansonī's axe. He would make a fine demon. Āsā was ready to fire again when he saw Mashū in the grip of his two opponents and saw the white-haired one kiss him. He turned his bow in their direction.

"MASHÚ!" he shouted and let the arrow fly, just as Ansonī took advantage of the opportunity and grabbed Āsā, pinning the angel's wings and arms and calling for Arufureddo to come help but Arufureddo had just frozen.

 _MASHÚ!_

* * *

Furanshisu let go of Mashū and Girubāto flew backwards when the saw the arrow winging its way toward them. Mashū dropped a little until his wings caught the air currents and arrested his descent. He looked up, just in time to see his friend and mentor being grabbed by the brown-haired demon and winged his way to the rescue.

* * *

Āsā struggled to shake off the demon but he would not budge and then suddenly, a white blur ripped the demon away. Mashū pushed Ansonī away from him and then flew backwards to fly next to Āsā.

"Mashū!" Mashū turned and faced the black-haired demon who had spoken and his jaw dropped.

"Arufureddo!" he gasped. His hair had been blonde in life but there was no denying that the black-haired demon was his brother. The white and blonde-haired demons joined the other two as they faced the two angels.

"The two souls got away," Girubāto said. The Vargas Brothers were nowhere in sight. Āsā grabbed Mashū and flew away with Mashū looking back at his brother.

"Oh good!" Ansonī commented. "I love a good chase."

"Let them go!" The Bāto·-tatchi· torio stared back at Arufureddo.

"Arufureddo," Girubāto argued. "If we were to take two guardian angels …..."

"Let. Them. GO!"

They watched as the guardian angels made good their escape.

* * *

After checking to see if the two Italians had made it home, Āsā and Mashū had returned to Heaven but Mashū was quiet, more than usual. They had to report the incident to the Keepers of the Heavenly Records, Angel U~Orufugangu and Angel Romyurasu. Romyurasu bore a strong resemblance to the Vargas brothers and was most concerned about the incident because it involved the two people he loved most on Earth.

"Rōman and Ferishiāno!" he asked. "They were not hurt, were they?" Āsā shook his head.

"They were unaware of the whole thing," he replied. "We even made sure that they made it home unharmed." Romyurasu breathed a sigh of relief.

"However," Āsā warned. "One of the demons showed an interest in Rōman. That's something I'm worried about!"

"We'll give extra protection to him until we're sure this threat has passed," U~Orufugangu replied, an angel with long blonde hair that had a braid down each side. He understood the worry this would cause his friend. He himself had lost a grandson to Hell. "I'll assign Rutovu~ihi to him. He'll do whatever it takes to see that he's safe."

"Thank you!" Romyurasu was very grateful but U~Orufugangu was a little worried with the description of one of the demons.

The one with white hair.

* * *

"Why did no one tell me about Arufureddo!" Mashū blurted as they left. "Why did they let me find out about my brother like that!" Āsā stared at Mashū in shock.

"Your brother!" he replied. "You didn't know he was a demon?!"

"I didn't even know he was dead," Mashū said. "How did he become a demon? He could be loud and even annoying sometimes but he was still a good person so why?"

"The only way to become a demon after death," Āsā replied. "Is to sell your soul to another demon. Is there any reason why your brother might do such a thing?" Mashū thought back over the last few years of his life.

"Me!" he replied, upset that he was the reason for his brother's fall. "I was diagnosed with cancer and given six months to live. The doctors could do nothing but then I began to recover and went into remission. But then, a month later, I died in a car accident." Āsā began to regret his words to Arufureddo about why he sold his soul. If he had indeed sold his soul to try and save his brother then he had been cheated. Everyone was born with a certain time on Earth and nothing could upset that. The demons could affect it but the order of things would right the disruption in some other way. But it was a loophole that some demons took full advantage of. Particularly the demon Iwan, also known as The Soul Thief. He was the worst.

The irony was that someone who would give everything for someone they loved was the kind of person Heaven would welcome. But selling his soul stopped that. A shame! Arufureddo would have made a wonderful angel.

* * *

"Why did we let them go?" Girubāto demanded. "If we'd managed to drag two guardian angels into Hell, we'd have finally knocked Iwan off his pedestal of Top Demon." Arufureddo stalked through Hell with the others following him.

"Si!" Ansonī agreed. "You know how long we've been trying to beat him!" They all hated Iwan. Arufureddo and Furanshisu had felt cheated by Iwan and it seemed that Girubāto and Ansonī had sold their souls for outcomes that were going to happen anyway. It was the nature of demons but grudges were still held.

"Oui!" Furanshisu concurred and then added, lecherously. "And I would have loved to corrupt that cute little bird …... " Furanshisu was cut off as Arufureddo seized his throat, lifted him up and pinned him against the wall. Arufureddo might have been the youngest of them but he was also the strongest.

"Stay away from him!" he warned. "DO. NOT. TOUCH. HIM!" Then he dropped Furanshisu and stormed away. The other demons just looked at each other.

What brought that on?

* * *

Girubāto wisely waited a while for Arufureddo to calm down and then went to see him in his room. The young demon was brooding about the encounter with the two angels, especially Mashū.

"Want to tell me what that was about, earlier?" Girubāto asked. Arufureddo looked at him as if contemplating whether or not to tell him.

"The angel you and Furanshisu were fighting," he replied. "His name is Mashū. He's my younger brother, the one I sold my soul to save." Girubāto blew out a breath. Now it made sense. His little brother was a angel too and, as much as he would like to have his brother with him, he would not condemn him to Hell.

"Are you going to tell Furanshisu and Ansonī?" he asked. Arufureddo shook his head.

"The less who know the better," he replied. "I don't want Iwan to find out about Mashū! He knows too much about him as it is."

"I won't say a word!" Girubāto promised. "By the way, your younger brother's cute." Girubāto made good his escape, dodging whatever Arufureddo had thrown in his direction and smashed against the wall where he had been.

Left alone, Arufureddo tried to think of ways he could find Mashū again. Knowing his brother, he would have worked out what had lead Arufureddo to this and he would blame himself. He had to talk to Mashū and convince him that it had been Arufureddo's decision and mistake. And to do that he had to find him.

Or the angel who had been with him!

 **And that's Vol I! I'm going to try my hardest to get this story finished in time for regular updates but if I don't succeed, please bear with me! How do you like the Japanese versions of their names! I swear, I can't even pronounce many of them (except Roderich! His name's the same in any language, boring sod!)XP. Āsā and Arufureddo have met and you can bet they're going to meet again.**

 **So until next week when, hopefully, I'll have some more of this done,**

 **Hasta la Pasta!**


	2. Vol II

**And on to chapter 2! Still got Writer's Block but I'm fighting it!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **I don't own Hetalia!**

 _ **Demonic Romeo : Vol II**_

Rutovu~ihi watched as Rōman bustled around the restaurant kitchen, stirring pots and adding seasoning, if needed, and putting the meals together as the waiters and waitresses hurried in to take them out to the diners in the dining area. Rutovu~ihi was a 'warrior' or 'arch' angel with slicked-back blonde hair and pale blue eyes. He stood, out of the way, watching over Rōman who, he had been told, had come to the interest of a demon. Āsā stood beside Rutovu~ihi as Rōman put another meal together on put it on the shelf for collection.

"Tell me about this demon," Rutovu~ihi said to Āsā.

"I didn't hear his name," Āsā replied. "Brown hair, green eyes, Spaniard in life, judging by his accent and he was with three other demons. A black-haired demon called Arufureddo and Mashū said the blonde demon was called Furanshisu and the white-haired one was called Girubāto."

"Girubāto!"

"You know him?" Āsā asked. Rutovu~ihi nodded, reluctantly.

"My older bruder," he admitted. "He sold his soul in life to save his army group in WWII. He didn't need to, they would have survived anyway."

"Why do I see The Soul Thief's hand in that!" Āsā drily. Iwan or 'The Soul Thief' was well-known, even among angels and particularly to Āsā. Iwan seemed to specialize in corrupting souls in a way that would normally see those souls go to Heaven. It was almost like he was mocking Heaven.

"Because it was," Rutovu~ihi replied. "Großvater _(Grandfather)_ was devastated when Girubāto went to Hell! Anyway, I believed your Spanish demon is called Ansonī. Großvater tries to keep tabs on Girubāto so he knows who he hangs around with."

"Arufureddo is apparently Mashū's older brother," Āsā revealed. "He thinks his brother may have sold his soul to save him from cancer."

"That sounds like one of Iwan's deals too," Rutovu~ihi commented. He would make a point of speaking with the young angel when he had a moment. He was probably blaming himself for his brother's fall but, the truth was, Iwan was very good at what he did. Too good!

Suddenly, Ferishiāno burst into the kitchen, followed by Mashū.

"Fratello!" he called out.

"What!" Rōman shouted. "And don't come running into the kitchen like that, idiota!"

"That's his brother?" Rutovu~ihi asked.

"Yes, that's Ferishiāno," Āsā replied. "You'll find it hard to find a purer soul." Mashū joined Rutovu~ihi and Āsā while Ferishiāno went to his brother. Mashū had been quieter than normal since the fight and coming face to face with his demon brother.

"Sorry, Fratello," Ferishiāno apologised. "I came to tell you, the Music Box is closing. Mr Edelstein was spotted by a music scout and he's going to be world famous!"

"Good!" Rōman replied. "That means you can ditch the Piano Bastard and come back here."

"Ve~," Ferishiāno said, sadly. "I'll miss listening to his music."

"If the Piano Bastard becomes world famous," Rōman swore. "You'll be able to listen to him on CD now make your damn self useful and help me with this." Ferishiāno picked up two of the meals Rōman had prepared and followed his brother to take them for collection.

"This is how he speaks to his bruder?" Rutovu~ihi frowned. Āsā chuckled.

"Believe it or not," he replied. "Rōman loves his brother. He just can't show it like everyone else."

"I hope so," the arch-angel replied, looking over at the two brothers. Something about the younger brother drew him, the innocence of his soul perhaps but that would be a draw to demons as well. But if Ferishiāno began working at the restaurant, it would make it easier for Rutovu~ihi to watch over both of them.

He hoped that would happen!

* * *

With Rutovu~ihi watching both brothers, Mashū returned to Heaven. Some of the higher angels wanted to talk to him about the situation with Arufureddo and, after seeing the brothers home, Āsā parted company with Rutovu~ihi and was making his way back to Heaven when he sensed the presence of a demon.

It had taken Arufureddo some time to find either angel from the fight and finally he had found one of them. He had hoped he would find Mashū but the other one would do. Besides, he was cute!

Āsā summoned his bow and arrow, preparing to fight. The black-haired demon approached with his hands up in truce.

"I come in peace," he said. "I just want to talk about Mashū." Āsā lowered the bow but kept it to hand. Arufureddo lowered his hands and walked forward slowly.

"How is he?"

"Quiet," Āsā replied.

"He was always quiet," Arufureddo commented.

"Quieter than normal," Āsā elaborated. "Finding out his brother's dead was bad enough! Finding out he's a demon! Well, it was quite a shock, Arufureddo!"

"So he told you," Arufureddo said.

"And the reason he thinks you might have sold your soul!"

"He blames himself, doesn't he?"

"Did you do it to save him from cancer?" Arufureddo looked down.

"I apologise for what I said about selling your soul," Āsā said, sincerely. Despite the result, what Arufureddo did was self-sacrificing. "It was very selfless." Arufureddo's head snapped up.

"Then why didn't Heaven let him live?" he snapped. "Mashū was the most wonderful brother that ever lived. Why couldn't Heaven leave him alone?"

"Heaven has no say," Āsā replied. "There's an order to the universe. When demons affect what's supposed to happen, the universe will change to bring about the original result, like a river flowing down hill. You can change its course but you can't make it flow uphill. It will only ever flow down. Heaven has nothing to do with it. It's our task to protect the souls, not to alter their lives. We know that's futile."

"So I was cheated!"

"By Iwan?" Āsā asked.

"You know Iwan?"

"Most angels do," Āsā replied. "Iwan's famous for corrupting souls in ways that, in normal circumstances, would see those souls go to Heaven. We call him 'The Soul Thief' and he's hated with a passion."

"I can think of a few demons that don't like him either," Arufureddo admitted with a chuckle. "Me included." Then Arufureddo's face took on a serious expression.

"I wanna to talk to Mashū," he said. "I wanna tell him it wasn't his fault. I made my own decisions, my fate's my own responsibility."

"You would have been a wonderful angel," Āsā replied. Arufureddo did not belong in Hell!

"With your skills, you'd be a great demon," Arufureddo said. "But I'm not an angel so there's no use dwelling on what can't be changed. Do you think Mashū will want to see me?"

"I think he will," Āsā answered. "But it depends on what the Higher-Ups tell him. Contact between angels and demons is not encouraged." Arufureddo nodded.

"It's not encouraged on our side, either," he commented. "Unless it involves fighting, of course but I need to see him!" Āsā got the feeling that he was seeing a little of Arufureddo as he was when he was human.

"I'll see what I can do," Āsā promised. "But I'm doing this for Mashū!"

"So am I!"

* * *

Iwan watched The Bāto·-tatchi· karutetto as they moved around Hell. The silver-blonde demon with the horns, wings and tail that matched his lavender/violet eyes knew that the three demons, along with that little upstart, Arufureddo, hated him and would love to bring him down. Speaking of Arufureddo, he had not been around for a while. Was he planning something against him? Him! The one even the angels called 'The Soul Thief'!

That was when Arufureddo flew in on his black wings and glided down to his friends. Ansonī greeted Arufureddo like usual but Furanshisu was a little tenuous. It was the look between Arufureddo and Girubāto that drew Iwan's attention. Like they were sharing a secret.

And Iwan was determined to find out what it was.

* * *

Ansonī behaved the same around Arufureddo but Furanshisu, who had been on the receiving end of Arufureddo's wrath, was more wary, not knowing why Arufureddo had lost it with him before, other than it was something to do with the violet-eyed angel. Only Girubāto knew the full truth and Girubāto had guessed why Arufureddo had gone back up to the surface. He only hoped a certain demon and his lackeys did not find out.

Speak of the devil! No pun intended! (Well, not much!)

Iwan glided across the punishment pits effortlessly, as if the screams of the damned were the wind keeping him aloft as he flew toward them. Arufureddo scowled as Iwan landed in front of them. The Russian demon smiled his child-like smile at them but everybody knew that smile hid a nature that even other demons would describe as vicious.

"Privet, comrades," he greeted. "And where have you been all day, Arufureddo?"

"What business is it of yours, Iwan?" Arufureddo snarled and the rest of the Bāto·-tatchi· karutetto looked at each other. It was like Arufureddo's dislike of Iwan had blossomed into full-blown hatred.

"I was thinking, perhaps you had gone up for some reason," Iwan smiled. "Perhaps to corrupt souls or hunt angels! Maybe we could do that together some time?"

"When Hell freezes over," Girubāto muttered, a favourite phrase among the denizens of Hell.

"We can corrupt souls and hunt angels on our own," Arufureddo snapped. "We don't need your help."

"Or perhaps you go up for another reason," Iwan just threw that out there to see Arufureddo's reaction but he did not expect Girubāto to react as well as both of them tensed up.

 _'So!'_ Iwan thought. _'Arufureddo does have another reason. And so does Girubāto, or at least, he knows about it. Ansonī and Furanshisu don't seem to be in on it though'_

"Like I said," Arufureddo growled. "Mind your own business, Iwan!"

"As you wish, comrades," Iwan replied. "As you wish!" And he flew back over the pits but he looked back at the four demons, staring at him with contempt and smiled.

He would keep an eye on young Arufureddo!

* * *

Āsā considered the wisdom of what he was doing. Mashū and Arufureddo were brothers but Arufureddo was a demon. Would he try to use this opportunity to drag Mashū to Hell and corrupt him to make him a demon so they could be together? Āsā did not think so but he was risking Mashū's angelic light on his hunch but could he really keep him from his brother?

Āsā went straight to Mashū's chambers and knock on the door. At a muffled 'come in', Āsā pushed the door open and walked in to see Matthew sat in a window with his arms wrapped round his knees and Āsā had the feeling that the meeting with the Higher-Ups had not gone well. Mashū turned to see Āsā and then turned to look out of the window, staring at the Earth below and sighed.

"They said I should just forget him," he said, softly. Āsā cursed under his breath at the cruelty of such an comment. "How can I just forget my brother! Especially if he became a demon by selling his soul to save me."

"The Higher-Ups have been up there too long," Āsā huffed. "I don't think any of them have siblings, let alone demon siblings so they don't consider feelings when they make these suggestions. Gits!"

"Does this mean I can never see Arufureddo again?" Mashū asked, a tear crawling down his cheek.

"No," Āsā replied. "They're not completely heartless, they would just rather you didn't. There's always a chance that a demon will try to take his angel sibling to Hell to change them."

"But why?"

"So they can have their sibling with them," Āsā said. "You think we discourage contact between angels and demons, Hell is worse, violently so. Better to take their siblings to Hell and change them than maintain a secret relationship with them."

"Arufureddo wouldn't do that," Mashū replied, adamantly.

"Are you sure?" Āsā wanted to know before he told Mashū what had happened on Earth.

"Arufureddo could be a little thoughtless," Mashū admitted. "Even obnoxious sometimes but, when it counted, he would always go the extra mile to help me. He would always do what was best for me. I can't believe he would change so much." Āsā looked down at his feet.

"So you'd want see him again if you could?," he asked.

"Yes!" Āsā looked up into Mashū's eyes.

"He wants to see you!"

"What?"

"He approached me, down on Earth," Āsā admitted. "He wants to talk to you, if you're willing." Mashū practically leapt from the window.

"Of course I am," he said, excitedly. "When can I go?"

"We!" Āsā replied, adamantly. "I'm going with you. You might believe Arufureddo won't drag you to Hell, I'm not so sure." Mashū wrapped his arms around Āsā and hugged him.

"Thank you, Āsā!"

* * *

"Did you find him?" Girubāto visited Arufureddo in his rooms, knowing he had been looking for his brother on the surface.

"I didn't find Mashū," Arufureddo replied. "But I found the other one. I think I've convinced him to help me see my brother."

"What are you going to do if you do see him?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you going to bring him down here?" Girubāto asked.

"Would you drag Rutovu~ihi down here?" Girubāto shook his head.

"I want to convince him that this is not his fault," Arufureddo replied. "I remember what Mashū was like in life. He'll blame himself for this."

"Just hope certain demons don't find out about this," Girubāto warned and they both thought of one demon in particular. Arufureddo did not fear Iwan on his own account but if he found out, Iwan might target Mashū.

"The Awesome me has your back!"

* * *

Āsā sat in the restaurant as Rōman was working as a waiter this time, Ferishiāno having taken over the food preparation. Rutovu~ihi hovered nearby as Rōman delivered meals and collected empty plates, smiling to the faces of the customers and cursing some of them for leaving food, a stingy tip or not leaving one at all, under his breath. Āsā wondered what Rōman's reaction would be if he knew about all the otherworldly attention he was attracting. There had been no sign of the Spanish demon but demons were known for biding their time so Rōman would have a heavenly bodyguard for a while yet.

A movement outside the window outside the window caught Āsā's eye and he turned to see Arufureddo outside. He nodded to Āsā and went around the corner of the building. Āsā turned back to Rutovu~ihi and indicated that he was going outside. Rutovu~ihi nodded and Āsā left the restaurant.

He went around the corner he had seen Arufureddo go around and found him leaning against the wall, his black wings curling around him like a cocoon. Āsā found it difficult to think of him as a demon now. More like a dark, fallen angel.

"If we're going to keep doing this, Arufureddo," Āsā said. "You might as well know my name. I'm Āsā." Arufureddo smiled a smile that did not belong on the face of a demon.

"Pleasure to meet you, Āsā," he replied. "Have you spoken to Mashū?" Āsā nodded.

"He'll see you," he said. "But I'll be there when he does. You understand I can't take the risk that you'll try to take Mashū with you when you return to Hell." Arufureddo nodded. He was glad his brother had this wonderful angel looking out for him.

"I wouldn't do that to Mashū," Arufureddo replied. "But if it makes you feel better, I can go along with that." Āsā smiled.

"Mashū will be here tomorrow with me," Āsā said. "Watching over Ferishiāno. I'll arrange for us to be able to meet you. Can you make it tomorrow?"

"I'll manage it somehow," Arufureddo promised, pushing himself away from the wall.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," Āsā turned to leave.

"Āsā!" Āsā turned back.

"Thank you!" Then Arufureddo surprised Āsā by leaning forward and kissed him lightly on the lips.

Arufureddo had surprised himself when he kissed the angel. He found Āsā attractive but he never thought he would go so far. But the kiss was so wonderful, he could not leave it there.

He took Āsā's face in both hands and kissed the angel more firmly. From the building roof, the demon saw it all.

"What are you doing, Arufureddo?" Girubāto muttered.

 **And it begins! Just a thank you kiss but Arufureddo has a taste now and you can bet he'll want another one!**

 **To Shadow's party girl 96** **– Thank you. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story! :)**

 **To themusicalcat** **– There'll be more! True, it is sad but Iwan is a specialist at this kind of corruption :( but one person did escape him as you'll find out soon :D. I noticed that about the names too. I think the Japanese version of Ludwig's name is pronounced Roo'toe've'shi. At least, that's what it sounds like on Google Translate!**

 **To Scarlet Phantom/MidnightAbsol/Sylveon-of-Melody** **– Thank you! :D I've never seen 'Gray Garden', I'll have to check it out. And I hope you do enjoy the rest of this story! :) (It's still not finished but I know where I'm going with it!)**

 **To ArtemisIsis13** **– I know what you mean! I have to hear some of the words to be able to pronounce them! Poor Mashū is very guilt-ridden right now :( and Arufureddo would have made a good angel and would have been if not for the whole 'selling his soul' to do it (there'll be more on that as the story goes on). I'm lucky in the fact that when I'm typing Arufureddo, I get so far and the rest comes up in highlight and I just have to press enter :). And meet again they will!**

 **And it's over for another week! Arufureddo learns a little of Āsā's reputation among the demons with Girubāto and Furanshisu giving words of warning and Iwan takes more than a passing interest in the Bāto·-tatchi· karutetto's actions!**

 **Till next week,**

 **Hasta la Pasta!**


	3. Vol III

**Back again! Now where were we? Oh yeah! Āsā and Arufureddo were snogging! XP Back to it!**

 **Addition Character**

 **Pītā – Peter – Sealand**

 **Enjoy!**

 **I do not own Hetalia!**

 _ **Demonic Romeo Vol III**_

A kiss from a demon should have been contaminating but Āsā's heartbeat wildly in his chest as Arufureddo's lips moved firmly over his. How could something so wrong seem so right!

Arufureddo felt Āsā's mouth under his and it felt like the Heaven he was now denied. He kissed deeper, not getting enough of the angel as he felt Āsā respond to him. Their lips clung together but, eventually, the kiss had to end.

Āsā felt the loss as Arufureddo's lips left his and his eyes fluttered open. He was dazed for a moment and then he realised he had just been kissed by a demon. Arufureddo watched Āsā's face as the realisation sank in and Āsā clapped his hand over his mouth, his bright green eyes wide with shock. Arufureddo smiled.

"Never been kissed by a demon before?" he said with a hint of laughter. Āsā scowled.

"Why on Earth did you do that?" he demanded. Although he was not sorry Arufureddo had, if he was completely truthful. Truth was, Arufureddo did not know why he did that. He had just been seized by a desire to kiss Āsā and he had to say, he was not sorry he had given in to the impulse.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I just wanted to. Are you sorry?" Āsā did not answer. Arufureddo found that hopeful. Why did he find that hopeful? It's not like he could have a relationship with Āsā. Not with Āsā as a angel at any rate. And it would upset Mashū and damage their relationship if Arufureddo corrupted Āsā so why was he feeling this way?

"Are you still going to bring Mashū tomorrow?" Arufureddo was afraid he had blown his chance to see his brother by pushing Āsā too far. Āsā did consider calling the whole thing off, things were going to be awkward around Arufureddo now but he could not disappoint Mashū so he nodded.

"We'll be here," he promised. Arufureddo had seen Āsā mentally struggle with whether or not to still come and he breathed a sigh of relief when he acquiesced.

"Thank you!"

"I better get back," Āsā said. "Before my colleague wonders where I've gone."

"I'll see you tomorrow," Arufureddo replied.

He was already looking forward to it.

* * *

Āsā slipped back into the restaurant and joined Rutovu~ihi who was watching Rōman and Ferishiāno bustle about the restaurant. The Germanic angel looked toward Āsā as he came to stand by his side.

"Why did you go out there?" he asked.

"I thought I sensed something," Āsā replied. "But there was no threat."

"Are you sure?"

"Quite sure," Āsā said. "Rōman and Ferishiāno are safe for now." Rutovu~ihi nodded.

"I heard about Mashū's encounter with his demon brother," he ventured. "I was wondering if I should talk to him." Āsā looked at him.

"Because of your own brother?" he asked.

"I know how he's feeling right now," Rutovu~ihi said. "I thought I might be able to give him some advice about it." Āsā nodded, thoughtfully.

"Would you meet your brother if you could?"

"I don't know," Rutovu~ihi replied, honestly. "I would like to see Girubāto again but it might not be safe. You think Mashū's brother might try to see him?" Āsā shrugged.

"I know Mashū would like to see him," he replied, evasively. "I'll support him as back up if and when he does!" But Rutovu~ihi was not fooled.

"It's already been arranged, hasn't it!" he stated. Āsā sighed.

"It means a lot to Mashū," he replied. "I'm going to be there when they meet." Rutovu~ihi did not like this but it was Mashū and Āsā's decision.

"Be careful," he warned. "It could be a trap!"

"Don't worry," Āsā replied. "I won't take any chances!"

But he was still thinking about that kiss!

* * *

Arufureddo glided through the sky, invisible to everyone below but not to a certain demon, flying after him. Girubāto shot up in front of him, causing Arufureddo flap his wings furiously to avoid crashing into him.

"You must have an unawesome death wish," Girubāto said, serious for a change. "Kissing an angel! Do you have any idea what some of the other demons would do if they found out! Iwan would just love a chance to come after you. When you first came down, he believed you should have been one of his lackeys. It really miffed him when you wouldn't have anything to do with him!"

"I can't stand the bastard!" Arufureddo snorted.

"Who can!" Girubāto agreed. "But just tell me, if you're planning some kind of affair with this angel, tell me you plan to corrupt him and make him a demon." Arufureddo said nothing.

"Arufureddo!"

"It was just a kiss!" Arufureddo finally replied. "I can no more corrupt Āsā than I could corrupt Mashū." Girubāto blinked. Āsā, is it! Arufureddo might be unaware of it but he was already acting the newly smitten lover if he was already calling the angel by his name. Wait a minute! Āsā! 'The' Āsā!

"Not Āsā, The Uncorrupted!" he exclaimed. Oh, this just got better and better! Arufureddo frowned.

"Who?"

"The one soul that stuffed Iwan's perfect corruption record," Girubāto replied. "Iwan always got every soul he went after and then he set his sights on Āsā. Iwan told him that his younger brother, Pītā, would be in an accident and that if Āsā sold his soul to him, he would prevent Pītā dying but Āsā didn't believe him. He thought Iwan was a lunatic and wouldn't entertain the idea. The accident happened but both Pītā and Āsā caught up were in it. Pītā survived but Āsā died with his soul untainted and he went to heaven because he deliberately took the worse of the accident to protect his brother. I'd never seen Iwan so mad! Hell shook for a week after."

Girubāto remembered that time well. Those demons not wise enough to stay out of Iwan's path soon learnt the hard way. Iwan soon got back into the swing and never lost another soul but Āsā's escape still stung and Arufureddo was developing a fascination with the one angel guaranteed to send Iwan on a rampage.

"You need to stop before Iwan finds out about this," Girubāto warned. "He's already got it in for us for not joining him when we all came down. If he finds out that you're dallying with his one failure ….. "

"Āsā is arranging a meeting between me and Mashū ….."

"You don't need to snog him for that!"

Arufureddo blew out a exasperated breath. Girubāto might have a point but Arufureddo wanted to see his brother and, if he was honest, he wanted to see Āsā again as well. Far from putting Arufureddo off, Arufureddo wanted to get to know the only one to side-step Iwan. As Girubāto would say, that was awesome.

"Arufureddo," Girubāto said. "Tell me you're not going to pursue a romance with this angel. Iwan will kill you if he finds out and he'll do it with a smile on his face."

"IF I decide I want to do this," Arufureddo snapped. "It's my risk. I'm not asking anyone else to get involved." Girubāto could not believe Arufureddo was this naive.

"Aren't you!" he replied. "You think Iwan will just come after you! Āsā would be his target too, not to mention Mashū!"

"He better not touch my brother!"

"Don't give him a reason!" Girubāto wished this was not happening with his friend. It was so unawesome and he did not want to see Arufureddo to become another of Iwan's victims.

"I'll help protect you while you see Mashū," Girubāto promised. "But please! No more! If you're not going to corrupt Āsā, leave him alone!" Arufureddo had never seen his friend so serious before. Girubāto was normally always up for fun and mischief, seriousness was not in his vocabulary. To see him like this had to mean he was really concerned. So he nodded. Girubāto heaved a sigh of relief.

"Let's get back to Hell before anyone comes looking for us," he said and he and Arufureddo headed for the portal to Hell.

But the kiss still played on Arufureddo's mind.

* * *

"Hey, idiota!" Rōman called as he put plates on the collection shelf. "Meals are ready for table 2." Ferishiāno bounced across the kitchen and picked up the meals.

"Oki doki!" he said cheerfully and bounced out again. Rutovu~ihi still could not believe the two were brothers, their personalities were such polar opposites but, if Rutovu~ihi were honest, he had seen signs that Rōman did care about his brother.

"Don't stand there, idiota!" he shouted and shoved Ferishiāno out of the way. Rutovu~ihi saw that Rōman had pushed Ferishiāno away from a pan spitting hot oil and had placed himself between his brother and the pan. It was deliberate and Rutovu~ihi began to see what Āsā had been talking about. Unfortunately, he was not the only one watching Rōman.

Ansonī peered in through the window of the kitchen, watching Rōman bustling about, preparing food, his face red from the cooking heat, reminding Ansonī of a tomato. Ansonī had become fascinated with the older Italian brother and had begun to follow him but he ducked down when he spotted the arch-angel.

 _'So he has extra protection,"_ Ansonī thought. _'I'll just have to find away to get my little tomate alone!"_ For now he would leave before the arch-angel could sense him and, with one last look, he turned and flew off to Hell.

* * *

Furanshisu knew something was going on with his friends. Not with Ansonī, Furanshisu knew he had his eye on the Italian. That was nothing out of the ordinary for a demon but ever since Arufureddo lost it after the battle with the two angels, both Arufureddo and Girubāto had been a little secretive. Furanshisu decided to do a little digging and he had one word to go on. Mashū! The name of the angel he and Girubāto had been confronting. The one Arufureddo did not want them corrupting.

He went to Hell's Hall of Records where, like in Heaven, there was a record of the life of everyone who was living or had lived on Earth and, there in Arufureddo's file, he found it. Mashū was Arufureddo's brother! No wonder Arufureddo did not want them corrupting that particular angel and Girubāto must somehow know. Why had they not told him and Ansonī? He was sure that the Spanish demon was completely unaware and Furanshisu was a little hurt that Arufureddo did not seem to trust him with this. He would never betray his friends but he figured that Arufureddo had his reasons.

At that moment, the subject of his musings flew down with Girubāto beside him. They landed next to him, Arufureddo looking a little preoccupied and Girubāto looking concerned.

"Problems, mes amis?" Furanshisu said. Girubāto gave a derisory laugh.

"Don't ask!" he advised. Furanshisu turned to Arufureddo.

"Something to do with your brother, Mashū?" he just had to throw that out there. The effect was immediate as Arufureddo's head whipped round.

"How did you find out?" he demanded, Furanshisu gave a dismissive wave.

"After your behaviour, did you think I wouldn't check the files, mon ami," he replied. "It's all there in black and white. You could have trusted me, you know!" Arufureddo looked apologetic.

"It wasn't a question of trust," he said. "If Iwan found out you knew something, who knows what he would have done to …... Wait! If you can get that information from the files, so can he!"

"Never fear, mon frère," Furanshisu reassured him. "I would not leave such dangerous information where Iwan could get it. Both your and Mashū's files are safe and sound!"

"Thanks, pal!" Arufureddo breathed a sigh of relief. Girubāto gave a snort.

"He won't need it," he said. "Are you going to tell him or shall I?"

"Will you drop it?"

"Tell me what?" Furanshisu asked. Girubāto looked around.

"Not here!" He took Furanshisu and Arufureddo to his room, more dragged in Arufureddo case.

"Arufureddo here has the hots for that angel he was fighting," Girubāto blurted out when the door was shut tight.

"Girubāto!" Arufureddo was not happy with the way Girubāto had just come out with it. Furanshisu did not see what the problem was, it was not like such things had not happened before.

"Oh L'amour!" Furanshisu gushed. "Don't worry, mon ami! We'll help you catch him and corrupt him, won't we, Girubāto!"

"He doesn't want to corrupt him," Girubāto revealed. "He wants him to stay his pure, untainted self."

"Mon Dieu! (Hell rumbled) You can't be serious!" Girubāto gave an unamused smile.

"You haven't heard the most unawesome part yet," he said. "That angel was only Āsā, The Uncorrupted!"

"SACRED BLEU!" Furanshisu could not believe his ears and turned to Arufureddo. "Do you want to die! AGAIN!" Arufureddo lost his temper.

"Yes!" he stormed. "I'm an idiot! Satisfied now! I said I won't get romantic with him, can we let it go now?" Arufureddo stalked away with his two friends looking after him, worried.

"Will he leave well alone, mon frère?" Furanshisu asked.

"He said he will," Girubāto replied. "But he maybe already be in too deep!"

* * *

Iwan watched from a distance as the three demon friends talked but he could not hear them from where he was. Then they suddenly went off somewhere private, Girubāto in particular was tense. Next time one of them left Hell, he would follow and find out just what they were hiding.

They should be his lackeys, his henchman! It was because of him that they were demons and they should be using their power for him, especially Arufureddo! He was, by far, the strongest demon that Iwan had ever created but the whining brat took against him for his brother dying. Well, Iwan had only said he would save Mashū from dying of cancer, he never said that Mashū would not still die!

But Arufureddo bore a grudge and joined forces with the then Bāto·-tatchi· torio. The now Bāto·-tatchi· karutetto would love to bring him down and they could be planning this.

A closer eye would be kept.

* * *

Āsā looked out of the restaurant window once more, looking for Arufureddo. That kiss had occupied his mind since it happened and he had to admit he had enjoyed it but was unsure what to do about it. Mashū was practically jumping out of his skin in anticipation of meeting his brother again. Rutovu~ihi watched them both, guessing that this was the day. He would not interfere but he just hoped that Āsā knew what he was doing as he approached him.

"They're meeting today, aren't they?" he asked. Āsā looked at Rutovu~ihi and then nodded. Rutovu~ihi sighed.

"Just be careful," he advised. Āsā promised that he would and looked out of the window again. Then he saw the demon standing on the corner and touched Mashū on the shoulder.

"He's here!"

Āsā nodded to Rutovu~ihi who nodded back and the two guardian angels left the restaurant. They made their way over to the corner where Arufureddo was waiting. And he was not alone!

Behind Arufureddo was another demon with white hair and white wings who seemed to be looking around at the surrounding area, as if keeping watch. His presence still made Āsā suspicious.

"I thought you were coming alone!" he said in distrust. Arufureddo held his hands up in a calm down gesture.

"Don't worry," he replied. "Girubāto is just here to watch our backs. There are some demons who would not be happy to know we're meeting like this." Girubāto turned and gave the group a smirk. Mashū gasped as he recognised the demon as one of those he had fought against. The one who kissed him.

"Chill, Birdie," he grinned. "I'm not after you this time." Pity though, Girubāto thought. The angel was as awesomely cute as ever. Oh well!

"Mashū!" Arufureddo could not believe his brother was finally in front of him. He walked up to the violet-eyed angel who he had not seen since his death. "Is that really you, bro?"

"I was going to ask you the same question," Mashū replied, staring at Arufureddo's black hair. "You were blonde. What happened?" Arufureddo smiled.

"I didn't go to Hell willingly when I died," Arufureddo replied. "I didn't get what I sold my soul for and I fought Iwan when he tried to drag me there. My hair was a side effect of our fight which I obviously lost, due to the fact that Iwan had a lot of lackeys on his side." Arufureddo looked down at his feet.

"I'm sorry, bro," he said. "I just wanted to save you. I ended up damning myself." Mashū sobbed and tackled his demon brother in a hug.

"You're an idiot," he wept. "You know that!" Arufureddo chuckled as he hugged Mashū back.

"That's been made obvious quite recently," he laughed. "I missed you, Mashū!"

"Missed you too, Arufureddo!"

Āsā and Girubāto kept watch as the two brothers reunited, on the look out a trap or anyone seeking to disrupt this meeting for various reasons, after all, neither side would be happy if they knew this was happening.

"So you're 'The Uncorrupted'," Girubāto smirked at the green-eyed angel.

"The Uncorrupted?" Āsā asked.

"Didn't you know?" Girubāto replied. "You're the only soul that Iwan failed to get so we call you 'The Uncorrupted'. He gave Hell Hell after that!"

"I'm guessing he wouldn't be very happy if he knew about all this," Āsā commented.

"Understatement!" Girubāto exclaimed. "Speaking of which, about you and Arufure..."

"Girubāto!" Arufureddo could hear his friend about to take Āsā to task over the kiss and he did not want that subject revisited. "Shouldn't you be on look out?" Girubāto got the message and went to check out the area.

"What was that about?" Mashū asked.

"Just Girubāto being a worry wart," Arufureddo replied. "There's one demon in particular who would just love to catch us meeting like this. He doesn't like us and we don't like him."

"Iwan?" Āsā asked. Arufureddo gave a smirk.

"Yep!" he replied. "Others wouldn't like it either. One of the reasons we need to be careful. Iwan wouldn't hesitate to target you or Mashū to get at me. We particularly hate each other."

"Does that mean we can't meet up again?" Mashū asked. He did not want to lose his brother again, he did not care if he was a demon.

"We'll find a way," Arufureddo promised. "I just got you back, Mashū, I'm not giving you up now. But, like I said, we need to be careful. Āsā, meet me later! To arrange another meeting." Āsā was not sure about this but he nodded.

"We better get back to our charges," he said to Mashū. "Rutovu~ihi will be getting worried." Girubāto's head whipped round.

"Rutovu~ihi's here!" he exclaimed. Āsā took a guess.

"You're his brother, aren't you?" he asked. Girubāto nodded.

"He was young when I died in the war," he replied. "I haven't seen him since but I have heard that he's a arch-angel now."

"He is," Āsā said. "He'll meet you if you want to!" Girubāto looked like he might say yes but then shook his head.

"No," he replied. "I don't want him to see me as an unawesome demon. Arufureddo, we better go." Arufureddo gave his brother another hug and turned to Āsā.

"I'll be here later," he said. "After dark!" Āsā nodded and Arufureddo turned and followed Girubāto. Āsā and Mashū watched them leave and then returned to the restaurant, not realising that someone else was watching too.

* * *

Iwan observed the group break up, which included his one defeat. So Arufureddo and Girubāto were fraternizing with angels, were they. He had also recognised the other angel as Arufureddo's brother which might explain his involvement. Girubāto would naturally help his friend but still, consorting with angels!

But Iwan would not move on them yet. He would bide his time.

And let them hang themselves!

 **Uh oh! Iwan knows something's up and he really has it in for Arufureddo and the others. And now you know there's history between Iwan and Āsā which could mean more trouble later D: Rutovu~ihi is getting to know the Vargas Brothers and Ansonī has more than a passing interest in Rōman O3O. Let's see where that goes! ;P**

 **To themusicalcat** **– Yes, they did and now you know who! ;) And there'll more between Iwan and Āsā, you can bet on that! I ship it too (obviously!)**

 **To ArtemisIsis13** **– Yep! I bet he never saw that coming! :P I think it took Arufureddo by surprise too. It took me a while to learn to type Rutovu~ihi (remembering which way round the v and the u went) and if you think pronouncing that is hard, just try U~Orufugangu (Wolfgang). I still can't do it! DX. Love seems to be in the air and I wouldn't be surprised at one or two pairing (I think you know which ones :3). Yes, that is sad! Like when people say, when it's your time ….. except for the Winchester Bros, obviously ;) Iwan already knows far more than we would like him to and he doesn't even know everything yet so** **The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto** **had better watch their backs** **. The brothers are reunited and you just might see certain other brothers meet as well (even if one doesn't want his brother to see him like that). Writer's Block is really unawesome, isn't it! It doesn't help that I have ideas for other stories that I can't do until I get this done :( but I'm determined and I hope you have better luck with your Writer's Block too ;)**

 **That's that for another week! Āsā sees a blast from the past that's far from welcome, the demons start making moves and Arufureddo and Āsā grow closer. I'm off to get the finishing pieces for my cosplay, I'm going off to Manchester for a comic con with some of my family at the weekend. I'm going as Mafia Romano. Ciao!**

 **So till next week,**

 **Hasta la Pasta!**


	4. Vol IV

**I'm back! Had a great time at MCM Manchester Comic Con (spent a fortune but I had a great time) And now, back to the story!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **I do not own Hetalia!**

 _ **Demonic Romeo Vol IV**_

Arufureddo waited at the same spot for Āsā to return after he and Mashū escorted Ferishiāno and Rōman to their home and made sure they were settled for the night. Demons were like the fictional vampire, unable to enter a human's home without an invitation but the same was true of angels too. Human homes were human territory so once a human entered his home to stay, that was basically a guardian angel's 'knock off work' time but a guardian angel would know if his ward left his home for any reason which meant it was a good reason why angels did not need to sleep, in case their ward decided to go for a midnight wander.

As he waited, Arufureddo pondered his attraction to the green-eyed angel and what it meant for him. He said he would not start anything with Āsā but he was not sure he could keep that promise, especially as he would come into contact with him constantly if he continued to meet with his brother. There was something about the angel that attracted him and it went beyond simple lust. He wanted to get to know 'The Uncorrupted', the one who had escaped Iwan's tainting clutches. That was impressive.

Then he saw Āsā flying toward him, his white feathered wings outspread. Arufureddo thought it was the most beautiful sight in this world and the next as Āsā swooped in and expertly landed in front of the demon.

"I was beginning to wonder if you were coming," Arufureddo commented.

"I was delayed by the Higher Ups," Āsā replied. "Speaking of which, Mashū won't be able to see you tomorrow. The Higher Ups found out about you meeting with him and want to talk to him about it." Arufureddo had a pang of worry.

"Will they stop him from seeing me?"

"No!" Āsā replied. "They're not happy about it but they're not going to stop Mashū if he really wants to see you. They're just worried about him."

"I'd never harm my brother!" Arufureddo said, adamantly. "Believe me!"

Āsā did believe Arufureddo. His appearance was so at odds with his attitude, so caring of his brother. It could be an act but Āsā did not think so. Why was such a person a demon? Someone who was willing to sacrifice everything to save his brother, it was just wrong!

"You don't belong in Hell," he commented. Arufureddo shrugged.

"Yet, that's where I am," he said. "I made my mistake, it can't be changed."

Āsā was not so sure. He would talk to the Higher Ups about it, surely something can be done. Arufureddo should not be a demon!

"If you could," Āsā asked. "Would you leave Hell for Heaven?" Arufureddo shrugged.

"Never thought about it," he replied. "It would never happen anyway. Nothing will change the fact that I'm a demon!"

"How many souls have you corrupted?"

"What?"

"Souls," Āsā repeated. "How many have you corrupted?" Arufureddo went a little red.

"I haven't been a demon very long," he replied, evasively.

"You haven't corrupted anyone, have you?" Arufureddo went redder and looked away nervously.

That might be something in his favour when Āsā spoke to his superiors about Arufureddo. If there was anything that could be done, an empty corruption record could only help and Āsā prayed that there was something they could do.

"So, would you come to Heaven if you could?" he asked, again. Arufureddo thought about it. There was reasons to stay in Hell, like the rest of the Bāto·-tatchi· karutetto but there were reasons to go to Heaven too. His heart was not really into corrupting the innocent and, besides, Mashū was in Heaven. And Āsā.

Where did that come?

"I might," he admitted. Āsā smiled and Arufureddo wondered why Āsā was so happy about it.

"Why is that so important to you?" he asked. This time Āsā blushed.

"No real reason," he replied, defensively. "I just don't think you should be in Hell." But Arufureddo smiled.

"You sure that's the only reason?" he asked and move toward the bushy-eyed angel. Āsā moved back slightly but not enough to avoid Arufureddo's lips closing over his. Āsā did not fight it, instead, his arms came up to encircle Arufureddo's neck and hold him closer, even though a part of him was saying, _What are you doing!_ Arufureddo kiss was so warm, so thrilling, so _angelic!_

Arufureddo had acted on instinct again, just giving in to the whim of feeling Āsā's lips on his. He put his arms around the angel's waist and held Āsā tight against him. It felt like he belonged right there. He knew that it was stupid. He was a demon, Āsā was an angel and never the twain shall meet but he could not stay away from him. Arufureddo already had the feeling that he was already in over his head with Āsā.

Then so be it!

The kiss got deeper but eventually it ended but Arufureddo was reluctant to let go of Āsā and Āsā was in no hurry to leave Arufureddo's arms.

"What are we doing?" Āsā breathed, almost to himself. Arufureddo chuckled as he rested his chin on top of Āsā's head.

"I don't know," he replied, honestly. "If other demons knew about this, their reaction would be …..well, let's say, it wouldn't be pretty, particularly Iwan's but, whatever this is, I don't want to give it up."

"I can't imagine that my superiors would be happy, either," Āsā admitted. "Angel and demon brothers meeting is one thing. Angel and demon lovers, quite another!" Arufureddo smiled.

"What they don't know won't hurt them then?" and he kissed Āsā again.

* * *

Arufureddo was missing again. He was gone before Iwan realised that he was absent so he had no idea where the American demon had gone to this time. Girubāto was over with his other two friends, Ansonī and Furanshisu so it could not be another meeting. It infuriated him that they had been meeting Āsā, of all angels. He would have been Iwan's crowning achievement. Heaven had already had their eyes on the aloof but caring Brit and Iwan would have loved to steal him from under their noses. He had met Āsā and claimed that Pītā, Āsā's little brother, would suffer an accident. That much was true but what Iwan left out was that Āsā would be in it too but Pītā would survive and Āsā would die.

Iwan lied, offering to save Pītā in exchange for Āsā's soul but Āsā had dismissed Iwan as a lunatic. Iwan tried everything to get Āsā to acquiesce before the dead-line but Āsā avoided him whenever he could and then the day of the accident came. As the truck bore down on their car, Āsā had thrown his body over Pītā. He had been killed outright but his body had protected Pītā enough for him to survive and Āsā had a straight path to Heaven for sacrificing himself to save his brother. Āsā was secure in the knowledge that Pītā was safe and well in the busom of a new family. Friends from the Nordic countries.

Iwan's greatest failure had always played on his mind and the idea that a demon he had created was consorting with him was an insult he would not let pass. He would gather his forces and bide his time. Who knows, if he did this right, maybe he would get Āsā too.

He flew over to the other three members of the Bāto·-tatchi· karutetto who saw him coming and fell silent.

"Privet (Hello), comrades," the Russian demon greeted with his disturbing smile. "And where is our American friend, Arufureddo?" Girubāto snorted.

"He's not your friend," he replied. "And what are we, his keepers?" Iwan frowned at Girubāto's tone while Ansonī put his hand on Girubāto's arm in a 'stop it' motion.

"You should show more respect," Iwan said with a dark aura. "I'm the one who made you what you are."

"Ja!" Girubāto replied, sarcasticly. "Thanks for that!" Now Furanshisu was giving Girubāto meaningful looks to stop baiting Iwan.

Girubāto knew he was pushing Iwan but he was so angry about refusing to meet with Rutovu~ihi, he wanted to take it out on the one person he blamed for it. If not for Iwan, he would not have been a demon and he could be with his brother now. Iwan just gave his creepy smile. The Bāto·-tatchi· karutetto could disrespect him all they like but soon he would find out what their secret was and then...

He would make them all pay!

* * *

"Are you insane, amigo?" Ansonī exclaimed after Iwan left. "None of us like Iwan but we're in no position to challenge him and his clique."

"Ansonī is right, mon ami," Furanshisu concurred. "Why were you trying to anger Iwan like that? For that matter, both you and Arufureddo have been acting aggressively toward Iwan. What's wrong with you two?"

"Nothing's wrong!" Girubāto insisted. "I'm just sick of that unawesome psycho sticking his over-sized nose in our business, waiting for us to slip up so he can pounce on us... "

"So," Furanshisu said. "Don't slip up! Just watch your step around Iwan"

"Don't worry!" Girubāto replied. "We're fine!"

"Then why have you and Arufureddo been acting so oddly?" Ansonī asked, the only one still clueless about Arufureddo. "First, Arufureddo makes us let those angels go, then he attacks Furanshisu over one of them. And you and Arufureddo have been disappearing for periods of time! What's going on, Girubāto?"

"Nothing!" Girubāto replied. "Just forget about it! Everything's fine." Girubāto walked away. Ansonī looked at Furanshisu.

"Something's going on!" Ansonī murmured.

Furanshisu did not reply.

* * *

"I've been hearing all about you," Arufureddo said to Āsā. "How you managed to evade Iwan when you were alive. The Uncorrupted!"

Āsā smiled as they walked along, Āsā's white plumage contrasting with Arufureddo's leathery membranes. They were walking in a deserted area, not wanting to be seen by either demon or angel. Āsā looked at Arufureddo and realised that could have been him.

There but for the grace of God go I!

"I was lucky," he admitted. "I just thought he was mad and avoided him. Had I taken him seriously, I may very well have made the deal you made. Like you, I would done anything to save my brother, little brat though he was!"

"He's dead?" Arufureddo asked. "Is he an angel?" Āsā shook his head.

"Pītā's still alive," he replied. "I look in on him every now and then. He was twelve when I died, seventy-nine years ago. He was adopted by a Swede and his Finnish husband and he grew up and began working on a sea platform. He's ninety-one now but still has a few years before his time runs out. His adoptive parents, Berwald and Tino, are angels now and they'll go with me to collect him when his time comes."

"He's lived a long life," Arufureddo commented.

"And a full one!" Āsā replied. "He's a grandfather of six now, I couldn't have wished better for him. I'm eternally grateful to Berwald and Tino for what they did for him."

"I'm glad you thought Iwan was nuts," Arufureddo said. "You weren't far off, either. Trust me, even in Hell, he's a psycho!"

"I'll be sure to steer clear of him then," Āsā replied.

"Good idea!" Arufureddo concurred. "I don't want him getting his hands on you. Will you be able to meet me tomorrow?" Āsā shook his head.

"With Mashū absent tomorrow, I have to watch over both Ferishiāno and Rōman," he told Arufureddo. "I won't be able to get away until they return home." Āsā did not mention that Rutovu~ihi would not be there either. He was seeing the Higher-Ups too, about watching out for Mashū if he insisted on continuing to see his brother. Arufureddo nodded.

"Then I guess I'll see ya the day after," he said and gave Āsā a soft kiss. Then a firmer one.

"I'll look forward to it," Āsā replied. Arufureddo gave him a smile, then turned and left, looking back at Āsā as he flew away.

Part of Āsā was telling himself _This is stupid!_ Another part of him was excited to see Arufureddo again.

* * *

The next day, Rōman and Ferishiāno wandered around the market, selecting the best ingredients they could find for the restaurant. Āsā stood nearby, unseen by all, as he watched over the Vargas Brothers. He was on his own today while Mashū and Rutovu~ihi were talking to the Higher-Ups about the situation with Arufureddo and as the brothers moved from stall to stall, looking over the wares, Āsā's eyes moved round, looking for threats to the souls in his care. This became a problem when the brothers split up, Ferishiāno, in search of pasta ingredients, Rōman, in search of tomatoes.

Āsā looked between the two, unsure of what to do! Ferishiāno was a complete innocent which was a big draw for demons. On the other hand, Rōman was his actual ward. Which one did he shadow? Then he sensed something that took the decision out of his hands.

There was a demon nearby, a strong one so Āsā summoned his bow and began looking round himself. The demon seemed to moving around and Āsā got the uncomfortable feeling that he was being toyed with. Then the feeling settled behind him and he spun round, coming face to face with the one demon he had never wanted to see again. Iwan stood there, his tail swishing about and his wings out stretched. None of the humans around them noticed the angel or the lavender winged demon facing off.

Iwan had been following Ansonī and Furanshisu and, although they had not made contact with the guardian angel, they lead Iwan to him and he decided to amuse himself at Āsā's expense.

"Privet, Āsā," the demon greeted, almost pleasantly which Āsā found disturbing. "It's been a long time, has it not!" Arthur pulled back his arrow.

"Not long enough," he replied, aiming the arrow at Iwan's heart. The demon just continued to smile at the defensive angel.

"That's not very nice, moya drug ( _my friend_ )," Iwan commented and Āsā laughed.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" he mocked. "I'm not sure of the etiquette when greeting someone who tried to cheat me out of my soul." Iwan shrugged.

"I'm a demon," he replied, matter-of-factly, like he was admitting to being a postman. "That's our nature, our Modus Operandi! Do you condemn a bird when it flies or a fish when it swims?"

"I know how you operate, Iwan," Āsā said. "You specialise in corrupting soul in ways that would normally make them angels. That's not your 'Modus Operandi', that's just for your own sick pleasure!" A dark aura fell over Iwan.

"You only escaped me through sheer luck," he warned. "I can still get you any time I want!" Āsā raised his arrow from Iwan's heart to his head.

"Not if you're dead!" he retorted.

* * *

Rōman wandered the market place, examining the vegetables on offer, especially the tomatoes when he collided with someone and found himself on the ground at the person's feet.

"Lo siento, amigo!" a Spanish voice apologised and Rōman looked up into a pair of forest-green eyes in a tanned face, framed with dark hair. Rōman had to admit the man was quite good-looking as he held out his hand to help Rōman up.

Ansonī could not believe his luck when he found Rōman unattended by his guardian angel but he was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth so he hid his wings, tail and horns, made himself visible and deliberately stepped in the way of Rōman so he would run into him, in order to get the Italian's attention. He held out his hand to help the young man up but Rōman ignored it and got up on his own.

"I'm not helpless, idiota," he snapped. "Why don't you look where you're going, ah?" Ferishiāno was always telling him that he should be friendlier to people and employed what he called 'Hug Therapy' whenever he was not but Rōman did not trust people at first sight. He felt that many just wanted something from him and, when they got it, they would just dump him so he treated them with disdain until he could trust them but, by that time, people had gone, put off by his prickly attitude. So 'Hug Therapy' did not work.

"Lo siento," Ansonī said again. "I was distracted, looking at the _tomate._ They look especially good today, Si?" Rōman cast his eyes over the plump round red fruits.

"They're okay, I suppose," he replied grudgingly. Ansonī held out his hand.

"I'm Ansonī," he introduced himself. "I'm from Spain."

"Never would have guessed!" Rōman said, sarcastically. "I'm Rōman. No need to tell you where I'm from, Tomato Bastard!" Rōman hoped this Ansonī would get the message and push off but Ansonī seemed oblivious to Rōman's unfriendly nature as he continued the conversation.

"Si, I've seen you before," Ansonī replied. "You run that restaurant, _Cielo Italia._ I've heard it has the best food around, I'll have to come and try it some time. I guess that's why you're here, buying ingredients? If you like, I can give you a hand, I've nothing better to do, right now!" Rōman first impulse was to tell this Spaniard to f$#k off but he was pretty attractive, not that Rōman had any intention of starting anything with the Tomato Bastard but a few hours in his company might be nice.

"Whatever!" Rōman said. "It's your time you'll waste, Jerk" The Spaniard smiled and Rōman walked away with an ecstatic demon in tow. Ansonī had managed to get in with Rōman, now it was only a matter of time before the irascible Italian became his.

* * *

Āsā was debating what to do. Iwan, he knew from reputation, was a powerful demon and whether or not Āsā could take him down was debatable but one thing Āsā knew was he could not fight him here. Mortals might not be able to see the fight but they could still be affected by an angel and a demon having a smack-down in their midst so he had to take this somewhere unpopulated and, spreading his wings, he shot into the air, Iwan right behind him.

When they were far above the crowd, angel and demon once again faced each other, wings flapping to keep them airborne. Iwan produced his weapon of choice, a long pipe with, what looked like, a tap on the end as Āsā aimed at him once more.

"Why not just become one with me?" Iwan said. "Like you were always meant to. You would make a fine demon, da?" Āsā snorted.

"I'm happy the way I am, thanks," he replied, sarcastically but Iwan just laughed.

"You talk like you have a choice, comrade," he chuckled and flew at Āsā who fired his arrow. So fast it was a blur, Iwan somehow managed to strike the arrow with his pipe, knocking it away from him, as he shot toward Āsā who stopped flapping his wings and dropped, Iwan flying over his head. Āsā stretched out his wings to catch the breeze again and flapped to arrest his descent. The arrow appeared in the bow again and Āsā turned to fire at Iwan again. Iwan saw the arrow coming toward him and performed a complexed mid-air pirouette to avoid it. Then he was flying down at Āsā who shot upwards. Iwan almost crashed into the crowds below before stopping himself and Āsā realised that he had to take this fight further away, preferably to a deserted area so he fled in the direction of where he knew of some wasteland.

Iwan followed in pursuit.

* * *

Furanshisu was immediately drawn to the bundle of sunshine that was Ferishiāno as he moved from trader to trader, collecting ingredients for pasta for the restaurant. Such a sweet, innocent boy! He would be fun to corrupt!

With his tail, horns and wings hidden, he approached the Italian, plucking a rose from a flower stall (still invisible so the stall owner did not see him) and came to stand behind Ferishiāno as he was looking at some herbs.

"Bonjour, mon chèr!" Furanshisu greeted after making himself visible. Ferishiāno turned to see find a blonde-haired man standing behind him. He had blue eyes and a stubbly beard, handsome but slightly invasive, even to Ferishiāno who had been told that he had no concept of personal space. The man presented the rose to Ferishiāno who took it, tentatively.

"Ciao," he replied, holding the rose to his nose as if to smell it but really to hide the sudden nervousness this man evoked in him. Ferishiāno was the friendly sort, too friendly some would say, but this man was making him very wary.

"What is such a beau jeune homme ( _handsome young man_ ) like you doing all alone?" Furanshisu was enjoying how flustered he was making the little Italian as he stepped closer while the young man blushed red. Furanshisu loved to seduce his prey. In his mind, the pleasure he gave was some compensation for getting them to sell their souls to him. Of course, he got the pleasure as well.

"My fratello is nearby," Ferishiāno replied, hoping that would get this man to back off but he seemed persistent as he smiled down at Ferishiāno.

"So there are two like you," Furanshisu, of course, already knew that as he began to stroke Ferishiāno's shoulder almost lovingly, making the Italian more nervous. "What's your name, mon amour?"

"Ferishiāno," Ferishiāno replied and then kicked himself for answering as the man's hand shifted to his back and began moving downwards. "Please! Bad touchy!" The man did not seem to hear him.

"Perhaps we could go somewhere," he said. "And you can tell about yourself." And his hand reached Ferishiāno's butt.

"Please! Stop!" Ferishiāno plead as the man leant in closer as he was going to kiss him. Then, suddenly, the man was ripped away and thrown against the stall behind.

"He said Stop!"

 **Naughty Furanshisu! No means no! At least someone came to Ferishiāno's rescue and I think you can guess who! Āsā is facing off against Iwan alone, that won't be pretty, Ansonī is putting the moves on Rōman and Arufureddo and Āsā are falling deeper and deeper. Ah, L'amour!**

 **To ArtemisIsis13 – Asafureddo! I like it! :D No, they won't forget in a hurry. I had a choice between 'The Untainted' or 'The Uncorrupted', I just liked Uncorrupted better. :) and, Yes! Iwan was truly ticked and he already has The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto in his cross-hairs and now he's after Āsā too. I'm glad you liked Arufureddo and Mashū's reunion, I wasn't sure whether I'd made it emotional enough and you can bet that Rutovu~ihi and Girubāto will run into each other at some point (how can they not!). I agree, Girubāto is awesome and they all had the best of intentions (what's the road to Hell paved with again?) and Iwan really uses that to the best of his ability :( He know Arufureddo and Āsā are meeting but, fortunately, he doesn't know about their growing feelings. Yet! And The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto should keep a close eye on Iwan! And Ansonī's as clueless as ever.**

 **I can't always get to these conventions either! :( They never happen near me (I live nowhere near Manchester) and getting the time to go is a real problem sometimes but I do what I can! Spelling U~Orufugangu was a problem for me too (I'm only just getting used to it) but I still have trouble pronouncing it O_o. And I won't let Writer's Block get the better of me!**

 **To Normandy \- I'll do my best! ;) You don't have to grow up with Prussia to be infected by his awesomeness! XP**

 **And we're done for another week! Āsā battles against Iwan and Love is in the air at Cielo Italia. Someone raises Hell and there's an unexpected encounter.**

 **So till next week,**

 **Hasta la Pasta!**


	5. Vol V

**And another week rolls around and another chapter is up! Please forgive any errors, I was rushed. Enjoy!**

 **I do not own Hetalia!**

 _ **Demonic Romeo Vol V**_

Ferishiāno turned toward his rescuer with the German accent and saw the most handsome man that he had ever seen. Blonde, slicked back hair, baby-blue eyes and muscles, lots of muscles. He looked, to Ferishiāno, like a warrior angel and Ferishiāno had no idea how close he was to the truth.

Rutovu~ihi had not had to meet with the Higher-Ups for long, as it had happened. Just long enough to be told the change in his duties. Mashū was insisting on being allowed to see his brother so Rutovu~ihi's duties now included working with Āsā to watch over Mashū whenever he met his demon sibling as Mashū was one of the purest souls to ever come to Heaven and his loss would be a great blow.

Rutovu~ihi wondered if this would bring him into contact with Girubāto and then wondered if this would be a good or a bad thing. He envied Mashū's contact with Arufureddo and he wished him well with that but if Rutovu~ihi should meet Girubāto, what would he say to him? They were brothers, yes, but they were also arch-angel and demon. Āsā had told him that Girubāto was ashamed to meet him because of what Girubāto had become. Rutovu~ihi knew Girubāto's reason for selling his soul and he was rather proud of his bruder's selfless action, despite the consequences.

If Rutovu~ihi and Girubāto met, they would deal with that when they came to it. Now Rutovu~ihi had his duty to perform so he made his way to where he could sense the Vargas Brothers. When he arrived, he found a scene that made his blood boil. Ferishiāno was trapped against a market stall by a demon, masquerading as a mortal who was, to all intents and purposes, groping him and Ferishiāno was not welcoming the demon's attentions at all. The demon's true nature might be hidden from the mortals around him but it could not be hidden from an angel. The wings, horns and tail could still be seen, transparent but still there.

But how to deal with this problem? The demon was visible to those around him so Rutovu~ihi could not fight him as an angel. A man suddenly being attacked as if by a ghost would attract unwelcome attention so there was only one way Rutovu~ihi could handle this. He landed, hidden his wings, transform his clothes to non-descriptive jeans and t-shirt and made himself visible.

He approached both demon and human as Ferishiāno begged the blonde demon to stop but the demon just pressed on, leaning down to kiss Ferishiāno. Rutovu~ihi put his hands between the two beings and shoved hard. The demon fell backwards against a stall and looked up at him.

"He said Stop!" Furanshisu, like Rutovu~ihi, could tell what really stood before him. Not just an angel but an arch-angel. An angry arch-angel. Rutovu~ihi was furious that this perverted demon had put his hands on such an innocent soul. Not just any innocent soul but _Ferishiāno_! The poor boy was still shaking at the encounter and that made Rutovu~ihi more angry. Ferishiāno was all happy sunshine and anything that made that sunshine dim did not sit well with the arch-angel.

"I suggest you leave," he warned. "And learn that no means no!" Rutovu~ihi was not just talking about the unwanted attention, he was putting the demon on notice that Ferishiāno's soul was off-limits.

Furanshisu looked around and found that people had begun to stare at him and decided that now was not a good time to press the matter. Besides, he did not really want to face off against an arch-angel. He gave a elaborate bow.

"Au revoir, mon chèr," he said and disappeared into the crowd. Rutovu~ihi turned to Ferishiāno.

"Are you all right?" he asked. Ferishiāno nodded with a relieved look on his face.

"Si," he replied. "Grazie! I'm Ferishiāno Vargas." Ferishiāno wanted to know more about his handsome rescuer and he was afraid the man might disappear, never to be seen again so he wanted to prolong this meeting.

"Rutovu~ihi Beilschmidt," the blonde man replied. Ferishiāno enthusiastically shook his hand.

"Let me take you to lunch," he begged. "I want to thank you for what you did just now." Rutovu~ihi shook his head.

"That's not necessary," he assured the Italian but Ferishiāno was insistent.

"Please!" he plead with a face that no one, mortal or angel could say no to. "Just let me find my fratello and we can go. Please let me thank you!" Rutovu~ihi sighed and gave in. Ferishiāno gave a 'Yay!' and began dragging the Germanic arch-angel with him as he searched for his brother. Following the cute little Italian, Rutovu~ihi had one thought on his mind.

 _Where on Earth was Āsā?_

* * *

Āsā could not help but cry out as he was slammed into the ground of the deserted dockside by Iwan. The demon was stronger than him, like he had suspected, and had gotten the upper hand all too soon for Āsā's liking. Iwan straddled the guardian angel, holding his hands over his head with his pipe to prevent Āsā from aiming the bow.

"Just surrender, Āsā," Iwan said, pleasantly. "It will be much more pleasant for you if you do. I can see you now, with horns and devil wings. Perhaps with a different hair colour, I think red would suit you quite well." Āsā tried to throw him off to no avail and Iwan's amusement.

"Trying to make up for your one failure," Āsā taunted. "Want to capture 'The Uncorrupted'! That's what you demons call me, isn't it?" A dark aura fell over Iwan's eyes as Āsā smirked at him.

"You only escaped me because …..."

"I thought you were a madman? Wasn't far off the mark, was I?"

In a fit of rage, Iwan had reared back to swing the pipe down on Āsā's head when Āsā brought his bow round to fire and Iwan leapt off Āsā to one side, realising that the angel had deliberately taunted him to make him lose his temper and make a mistake. Inwardly, Iwan applauded the angel for taking advantage of Iwan's emotions to free himself as Āsā leapt to his feet and backed away, with the bow aimed at Iwan again. What a sweet demon he would make! And, perhaps the one who could be at Iwan's side.

Iwan was even more determined to get Āsā now!

"You will be mine, angel," Iwan promised. "You will be my greatest achievement. After all, you're not my failure, you're my challenge. One that I will meet and I swear that you will stand at my side!"

"No way in Heaven or Hell!" Āsā swore and fired his arrow. Iwan moved but, even so, He felt whistle past his hair as it flew past. Iwan smiled at his failure.

"You missed again, little angel," he teased and then he realised that Āsā was also smiling.

"Did I?" The was an ominous creak and the sound of twisting and straining metal. Āsā moved away as the small, loading crane that had been hit by Āsā's arrow, it's heavenly power taking out a main support strut, fell like a tree. Directly on top of Iwan!

Āsā took to the air as Iwan frailed under the twisted metal, taking the chance to run. Although, a crane landing on a demon would not kill it, it would hold the demon down for a while and it would give Āsā time to escape. This was a new complication he did not need and it could put Arufureddo and Mashū at risk if Iwan had his sights set on Āsā. A meeting with the Higher-Ups was definitely in order.

Āsā flew back to the market.

* * *

Rōman was having a good time with the Spaniard, to his surprise. No matter what he called Ansonī, the Spaniard just took it in his stride. The only other person Rōman knew who could stand his name-calling was Ferishiāno who never took the names seriously. This guy was either oblivious or ignoring his name-calling, carrying packages without complaint and chatting about tomatoes and, of all things, turtles. Seems he had a fondness for them.

"Hey, Tomato Bastard," Rōman called. "I suppose I better thank you for the help so how about we go back to the restaurant and I'll make a meal for you. Just to say thank you, don't go getting any ideas!" Ansonī grinned.

"Oh si!" he replied. "So kind of you, thank you!" Rōman just grunted and began looking for Ferishiāno. Ansonī followed Rōman as he weaved in and out of the crowd, checking all the stalls that sold pasta ingredients, looking for his little brother.

"Ve~ FRATELLO!" came Ferishiāno's voice across the market and a hand could be seen waving above the head of the other people. As the crowd parted, Ferishiāno came into view, followed by a tall, blonde-haired man in a t-shirt and jeans.

"Just get over here, idiota," Rōman ordered. Ferishiāno hurried over with the blonde man who took one look at Ansonī and froze. Rōman looked round at Ansonī who had the same expression on his face too. Ansonī could see that the man in front of him was not only an angel but an arch-angel. He was safe while they were around the Vargas Brothers, masquerading as a mortals but the moment they were gone, all bets would be off.

"You two bastards know each other?" he asked as they glared daggers at other another.

"Nein!" the blonde replied in a German accent. Rutovu~ihi wondered what was going on? It was like there was a infestation of demons in the area but he could not do anything about it with the Vargas Brothers here.

"Ve~ Rōman!" Ferishiāno was oblivious to the tension between the two men. "This is Rutovu~ihi! He saved me from some touchy-feely guy so I invited him for lunch. Can he come, Fratello? Can he? Can he? Can he?" Rōman just rolled his eyes.

"If it'll get you to shut up the hell up, then okay," he conceded. "This is Ansonī! He's been helping me to shop so he'll be coming too. Tomato Bastard, this is my idiota little fratello, Ferishiāno, and his new friend, probably another idiota! Well, let's get going!" He turned and began walking, followed by Ferishiāno with a tense atmosphere created by the arch-angel and demon bringing up the rear.

* * *

Furanshisu returned to Hell, cursing the intervention of the arch-angel. If not for him, that cute little Italian would be his little territory now. He was in a foul mood but soon he found that someone was in a fouler one. Hell rumbled and kolkolkolkolkol could be heard in time with the tremors so Furanshisu knew that Iwan was unhappy.

Arufureddo and Girubāto came up to see what was happening as the Russian demon swept passed, a dark aura surrounding him and all other demons jumping out of his way. One was not fast enough and got smacked into the middle of next week.

"He's pissed!" Arufureddo stated the obvious. "I wonder what flew up his ass, this time?"

"Same thing as last time, from what I heard," came a voice behind them. They turned to see Vladimir, a red winged and horned Romanian demon with strawberry-blonde hair, red eyes and fangs.

"What do you mean?" Arufureddo asked, worried. From what he heard, the last thing that set Iwan off like this was …..

"Apparently, he went after the Uncorrupted," Vladimir replied. "A bit of a fight and the Uncorrupted somehow managed to drop a crane on him and got away from him again. Needless to say, Iwan's not happy." He went on his way. Arufureddo went in the direction of the Gates of Hell, followed by Furanshisu and Girubāto.

"Mon ami, where are you going?" Furanshisu demanded. Arufureddo never broke stride.

"I gotta make sure he's okay!" he replied. Girubāto tried to make him stop.

"You heard Vladimir!" he exclaimed. "He escaped! Again!" Arufureddo shook his head.

"Doesn't mean he wasn't hurt," he pointed out. "I gotta know!" And he took to the air. Furanshisu gave a long suffering sigh and he and Girubāto flew after him.

* * *

Āsā traced the Vargas Brothers back to the restaurant but when he got there, he saw a scene he would never have expected. Rutovu~ihi sat at one of the tables in human form (although he could still see his wings), sitting down to a meal with the two Italians and a demon that Āsā recognised as the one that had been fighting alongside Arufureddo. The one with an interest in Rōman.

What was Rutovu~ihi doing? He was suppose to protect Rōman from this demon and they were all eating together? What was going on? He managed to catch Rutovu~ihi's eye and he gave a slight nod to indicate that he knew he was there. Ansonī saw Āsā too and began to feel outnumbered but he could hardly call foul. After all, it had been four against two when he had fought him and the other angel.

"Who was this touchy-feely bastard?" Rōman asked as he brought out pasta for himself and Ferishiāno, paella for Ansonī and wurst and potatoes for Rutovu~ihi who was now dubbed 'the Potato Bastard' by Rōman.

"Ve~ I don't know!" Ferishiāno replied. "He was blonde with blue eyes and a beard. He just started touching me and he wouldn't stop until Rutovu~ihi made him." Ansonī inwardly groaned. That sounded like Furanshisu, up to his old seduction tricks again. It was hard to believe that, in life, he had been a faithful husband!

"Thanks, Potato Bastard," Rōman said to Rutovu~ihi. "This idiota would never have got out of it on his own. He's too soft-hearted to do what needs to be done."

"And what would you have done?" Rutovu~ihi asked. Rōman shrugged.

"Kicked him in the nuts!" he replied, casually wrapping pasta around his fork, not noticing both angel and demon wincing and crossing their legs. Āsā cringed too and Ansonī thought his friend had dodged a bullet by picking the younger brother to approach.

"Ve~ where are you from, Rutovu~ihi?" Ferishiāno asked. Rutovu~ihi chewed his bite of food and swallowed.

"Berlin, originally," he answered. "Then I've drifted about. I don't know how long I'll be here for. I'm dealing with some business right now." And he gave Ansonī a meaningful stare.

"What about you, Ansonī?"

"I'm from Spain," Ansonī replied. "Just wandering the world to see what I can find. I never expected to find someone like Rōman." Rutovu~ihi gave the demon a hard stare. Rōman blushed at Ansonī's statement and stood up, taking everybody's empty plates.

"Hey, idiota," he said to Ferishiāno. "Give me a hand and we'll get dessert." Ferishiāno picked up the rest of the plates and followed Rōman into the kitchen. Ansonī was nervous at the thought at being alone with the two angels.

"What are you doing here, demon?" Āsā demanded. "Are you stalking my charge because I will fight to protect him and his brother."

"As will I," Rutovu~ihi concurred. "You will get neither soul, that I swear!" Ansonī gave a little smile.

"I just ran into Rōman at the market," he replied, with a child-like innocence. "And he invited me to lunch. How could I refuse an invitation from a cute, _unprotected_ , little tomate like Rōman?" Āsā went red with anger.

"Did you ask the Soul Thief to run interference for you, git?" he demanded. "Did you tell him to fight me?" Ansonī's face fell.

"Iwan's here!" he blurted. Āsā took that to mean that Ansonī had nothing to do with Iwan's attack on him. "Iwan's nothing to do with me! You would never find me working with Iwan!"

"What's this about the Soul Thief?" Rutovu~ihi demanded. "Was he there?" Āsā nodded.

"He was in the market," he replied. "I had to lead him away and battle him by the docks. I barely got away and when I saw him here," indicating Ansonī, "I assumed Iwan was working with him to get me out of the way." A dark aura appeared around Ansonī.

"Don't put me down as one of his lackeys!" he insisted. "I would never work with the demon who robbed me of my soul!" Āsā saw the light but before he could ask Ansonī what had happened to him, there was sounds coming from the kitchen and they stopped talking as Rōman and Ferishiāno came back out, bringing dessert.

"Ve~ Who wants gelato?"

* * *

Followed by Girubāto and Furanshisu, Arufureddo flew toward the _Cielo Italiano,_ desperate to see if Āsā was all right. He knew Āsā had escaped from Iwan but Iwan's targets rarely escaped unscathed. Unseen by the people below, the three demons glided over the buildings and circled down toward the restaurant. Arufureddo landed and ran to the window, looking in. He was relieved to see Āsā there and he looked unhurt but he was met with a scene he was not expecting.

Ansonī, masquerading as a mortal, was sat down to a meal with an arch-angel who had his back to the window, also masquerading as a mortal, with the two souls the Bāto- tatchi- karutetto had attempted to take from Āsā and Mashū. Āsā hovered in the background, invisible to the two mortals in the room as the other four ate ice-cream.

"Sacred Bleu!" Furanshisu swore as he came up behind Arufureddo and observed the cosy little scene.

"What's that dummkopf doing?" Girubāto cursed.

* * *

Āsā spotted Arufureddo, accompanied by Girubāto and that blonde demon, looking in through the window at them. When his eyes met Āsā's, he looked relieved but that look turned to shock when he saw the other demon sat down with Rutovu~ihi and the Vargas Brothers. The other two demons were stunned too as the four diners finished their gelato.

"I have to be going now," Ansonī announced, standing up and wanting to get out of the restaurant and away from these two angels. He had also spotted his friends outside the window and wanted to get to a place where the odds were better.

"I must leave too," Rutovu~ihi added. Ferishiāno quickly picked up a napkin, found a pen and jotted something down his cell phone number. He handed it to Rutovu~ihi with a hopeful look on his face.

"Ve~ We should do this again," he insisted. "Call me when you want to." Rutovu~ihi put the napkin into his pocket.

"I will!" he promised. Ansonī turned to Rōman with a hopeful look.

"You're not getting my number, Tomato Bastard!" Rōman said, adamantly. "You want to see me again, you can come here!" Ansonī gave a sensual smile.

"Is that an invitation?" he purred, leaning closer. Rōman stuck his hand on Ansonī's face and pushed him away.

"Just get out of here!" he ordered and Ansonī headed for the door, followed by Rutovu~ihi and an invisible Āsā but not before he turned to grace Rōman with a smile that left him blushing like a _tomate._ Rutovu~ihi gave him a push to get him out of the door, Āsā bringing up the rear.

"Ve~ Do you think they'll be back, Rōman?" Ferishiāno asked.

"Who cares!" Rōman replied. But he did care! He cared very much, although he would bite his own tongue off before admitting it!

* * *

Once outside, both Ansonī and Rutovu~ihi took their respective demon and angelic forms when they were met by Arufureddo and the others. Ansonī was reassured to be back among friends.

"What the hell are you playing at?" Arufureddo demanded as Rutovu~ihi went on the defensive, surrounded by so many demons. "Sitting down to dinner with angels! You're just lucky it was us that saw you and not Iwan!"

"You'll be the death of me, mon frère!" Furanshisu declared, shaking his head in frustration. What was that about being among friends?

"Arschlock!" Girubāto cursed, stepping out from behind Arufureddo. Into full view of Rutovu~ihi!

"Girubāto!"

"Rutovu~ihi!"

 **Oooooh! Another brotherly reunion, it had to happen! Āsā had a close shave with Iwan but, unfortunately, Iwan's getting a little obsessed with him which isn't good. Ferishiāno's more than a little love-struck and I think the feelings are returned and how was that for an awkward dinner?**

 **To Kirascribbler** **– Thank you! :D I do my best (even with Writer's Block) And I will keep going ;)**

 **To themusicalcat** – **No problem! The world doesn't stop for fanfiction (pity!) Trust me, there's enough ships to rebuild Spain's armada :P UsUk forever!**

 **To ArtemisIsis13** **– Yeah! Furanshisu needs to keep his hands to himself :C And absolutely right, Rutovu~ihi to the rescue! All things considered, I think it was best for Furanshisu that Rōman** ** _didn't_ see him XP Love is definitely in the air for everyone, it seems and as for the future of the Bāto- tatchi- karutetto, you'll just have to wait and see ;) Once I mention Pītā I had to give him a history so why not a happy one, after all, he did lose his brother! :'( I think I would think Iwan was a nut job too and Āsā's not entirely wrong to think that and it's not every day you drop a crane on a demon :D Girubāto's just upset because he doesn't want Rutovu~ihi to see him like that and he blames Iwan for that, although it might not be the best idea to annoy Iwan.**

 **Sorry about the cliffhanger! Actually, no, I'm not! Here's another one ;P**

 **Well. That's that! Next week, Āsā looks into the possibility of redeeming Arufureddo, the Bāto- tatchi- karutetto have a role reversal, Ansonī gets closer to Rōman and Iwan is conspicuously absent.**

 **So till next time,**

 **Hasta la Pasta!**


	6. Vol VI

**Another week, another chapter and two brothers are reuniting! Here we go!**

 **I don't own Hetalia!**

 _ **Demonic Romeo Vol VI**_

Rutovu~ihi stared at someone he had not seen in years but he remembered the silver/white hair and the crimson eyes. He did not remember the red horns and white, reptilian wings but he should have expected that, seeing as he knew Girubāto was a demon.

His little brother had grown up since his death, was Girubāto's first thought when he saw Rutovu~ihi. The last time Girubāto saw him, he was a gawky teenager, now Rutovu~ihi was taller than him and ripped with muscles. A pair of magnificent, white wings sprouted from his back.

"Hello, bruder!" was the only thing Rutovu~ihi could think of to say. Of all the things to happen, this was what he was the least prepared for.

"Hello, kleiner bruder," Girubāto replied, although it felt a little strange to call someone who was bigger than him 'little'. Then he sighed. "This is so unawesome! I never wanted you to see me like this!"

"If Mashū can cope with his brother being a demon, Girubāto," Rutovu~ihi commented. "So can I! It's good to see you again!" And he hugged Girubāto who hugged him back.

"I've missed you!"

"Right back at you, bruder!" They broke the hug and stepped back, the suspicion of a tear in the corner of their eyes.

"That being said," Rutovu~ihi continued. "Talk to your friends and make sure they know that the Vargas Brothers are off-limits! First, I have to save Ferishiāno from this groping pervert." He indicated toward Furanshisu who blushed. "Then I find this one, putting moves on Rōman!" He pointed at Ansonī.

"We are demons, Rutovu~ihi!" Girubāto pointed out. "That's our task, what Hell demands of us."

"Nevertheless," his brother replied. "If I find them trying again, I will act accordingly, your friends or no!" Girubāto nodded. This was an accepted hazard.

"What are you doing here, any way?" Āsā asked as he gazed over the little group. Arufureddo came to stand in front of Āsā.

"I heard that you had a run-in with Iwan," he replied. "I had to see if you were all right!"

"Don't worry about me!" Āsā smirked. "I wasn't the one who had a crane dropped on him!" Girubāto began to laugh.

"Kesesese!" he chuckled. "That really happened? No wonder Iwan was pissed! Oh, this is awesome!"

"He was that angry?"

"Let's put it this way," Girubāto replied. "One demon is yet to wake up and half of Hell is still in hiding!"

"Which means you'll need to be careful," Arufureddo said to Āsā. "Iwan will be gunning for you now."

"He already is," Āsā replied. "Iwan deliberately sought me out! At first, I thought he was delaying me so Ansonī could get to Rōman but it became quite clear that he was nothing to do with Ansonī which can only mean Iwan came after me!"

"That's a problem!"

"Why are we standing around, talking like we're all friends?" Ansonī asked, confused at the almost camaraderie of the gathering. Arufureddo looked at Girubāto and Furanshisu and nodded. Time to bring Ansonī into the loop.

"The angel that Furanshisu and I were fighting," Girubāto explained. "Turns out it's Arufureddo's little brother, Mashū. Āsā's been setting up meetings for them and I've been acting as lookout. No way do we want Iwan finding out about that!" Ansonī felt a little hurt that Arufureddo had not confided in him about this.

"Why didn't you tell me, amigo?" he asked with a pout. "I would have backed you up, you know that!" Arufureddo put his hand on his friend's shoulder to reassure him.

"If Iwan thought you knew something," he replied. "You would have been a target for him. There's no telling what Iwan would have done to you to find out what you knew. Sorry, man! It was for your own protection." Ansonī shrugged.

"Si, it's okay!" he replied. "I get it!"

"You will if you go near Rōman again," Rutovu~ihi warned. "He's under my protection, as is Ferishiāno! So be warned!"

"Shame!" Ansonī declared. "I like Rōman! He's cute and looks like a _tomate_ when he goes red! I think I could have had something there!"

"Not his soul!" Āsā snapped. "He's under my protection too."

"We'll stay away from the Vargas Brothers," Arufureddo said, giving the other two demons a meaningful stare. He would talk to them later but he had a bad feeling that the Vargas Brothers were going to be a flash point in the future.

"We better depart before we're spotted by either side," Furanshisu advised. Everyone agreed that this was a good idea and began to separate while Arufureddo turned to Āsā.

"I'll see you and Mashū tomorrow," he promised. He did not dared kiss Āsā in front of the other demons, Girubāto gave him a big enough headache about it so he just gave Āsā's hand a squeeze before following his friends into the air as Rutovu~ihi and Āsā returned to the restaurant.

"Do you think it's possible to redeem a demon and bring him into Heaven, Rutovu~ihi?" Āsā asked the arch-angel. Rutovu~ihi gave it some thought.

"I've never heard of it happening," he admitted. "Perhaps you should talk to Romyurasu or my grandfather. They might know more." Āsā nodded.

"I will!"

* * *

Mashū sighed with relief as he left from meeting with the Higher-Ups who had tried long and harder to persuade him not to meet with his brother again but Mashū adamantly refused. In the end, they gave up and just accepted that Arufureddo was going to be a part of Mashū's life whether they approved or not. They finally allowed him to leave with a note of caution and that Rutovu~ihi would now accompany the meetings. Mashū could live with that!

As he made his way to his chambers, he saw that Āsā had returned and was making his way to the Heavenly Records temple.

"Āsā!" he called out to his mentor. Āsā stopped and looked round at Mashū.

"Hello!" he greeted the younger angel. "How did the meeting go?"

"They tried to get me to stay away from Arufureddo," Mashū replied. "I said no! How was your day?"

"Eventful!" Āsā admitted. "I'm going to see Romyurasu and U~Orufugangu about it and ask them something. Maybe you should come, it concerns you!" Mashū followed Āsā, full of curiosity.

The Heavenly Records Keepers agreed to see them and Āsā related everything that had happened.

"You're sure that the Soul Thief deliberately sought you out?" U~Orufugangu asked. "That he wasn't just keeping you busy for the other demons?"

"That's what I thought, at first," Āsā replied. "But the demon Ansonī was quite adamant in his denial and I believe him. In fact, I would go so far as to say that all four demons actually hate Iwan. It seems he has enemies, even in Hell!"

"Why would he target you?" U~Orufugangu asked. Āsā knew the Romyurasu was not going to like this.

"It seems that I'm Iwan's big failure," he replied. "Iwan never failed to get a soul until he tried to take mine when I was alive. He failed and it seems I'm known as 'The Uncorrupted' in Hell!" Romyurasu frowned and turned to U~Orufugangu.

"This is a troubling development," he commented. "Āsā is Rōman's guardian. If the Soul Thief is targeting him, not only is he in danger but my grandsons could be at risk too. Perhaps we should have someone else assigned to Rōman for a while."

"I can do my task!" Āsā said, offended that they would think he was a liability. "And I'm not afraid of Iwan."

"But there's the question of the other demons," U~Orufugangu pointed out.

"I don't think they'll be a problem," Āsā replied. "Mashū's brother, Arufureddo said he'd talk to the others and one of them is Girubāto, Rutovu~ihi's brother and your grandson. He won't attack his brother!" U~Orufugangu hoped Āsā was right, that Girubāto had that much humanity left in him.

"Are you sure of that?" Romyurasu asked. "That Ansonī demon sounds a little too interested in Rōman."

"He can't do anything while I'm there," Āsā replied. "And he's no match for Rutovu~ihi. Please! Let my do my job!" Romyurasu sighed.

"Very well," he agreed. "But the moment you think your presence is endangering Rōman and Ferishiāno, you leave, understand!" Āsā nodded.

"There's something I want to ask," he said. "Is it possible to redeem a demon and bring him to Heaven?" Mashū stared at Āsā. Was he talking about Arufureddo?

"I'm afraid not!" U~Orufugangu replied, adamantly, crushing the hope. "Demons can't come into Heaven."

"Why not?" Mashū demanded. "Demons can grab angels and drag them to Hell to be tainted into demons, why can't we take demons, purify them and make them angels?" U~Orufugangu sighed.

"If we could, don't you think we would," he replied. "Especially victims of Iwan! The difference is that angels own their souls, demons don't and you need a soul to pass into Heaven. Hell would have to relinquish ownership of the demon's soul for the demon to have a chance of Heaven and that has never happened."

"Is there any way to get Hell to relinquish ownership?" Āsā asked. "Anything we can use?"

"Hell could relinquish ownership of its own accord," Romyurasu replied. "Not very likely or someone from Hell could break the rules between Heaven and Hell, in which case, Hell would have to forfeit something of our choosing. But Hell is very careful about its denizens sticking to the rules. Any demon who broke them and cost Hell souls would face …... severe penalties!"

"What rules?"

"Demons cannot take a soul that is uncorrupted or acceptable to Heaven," U~Orufugangu stated. "They can't take the life of a living uncorrupted and the souls of children are off-limits since they have not lived long enough to taint themselves."

"So that's why Iwan tried to get my soul, rather than Pītā's," Āsā mused. "There's no other way?" Both angels shook their heads.

"Thank you," Āsā and Mashū bowed and left the room. Well, that was disappointing! Unless they wanted to trick demons into taking some poor, innocent soul, thereby corrupting their own, they had no way of saving Arufureddo. They could only hope that they caught some demons breaking the rules on their own. Mashū summed it up.

"This sucks!"

* * *

"Ve~ Do you think they'll come back, Rōman?" Ferishiāno asked as they dressed for bed. His voice was muffled as he pulled his pajama top over his head.

"Who cares!" Rōman snapped as he pulled a comb through his hair but he was wondering the same thing. Would the Tomato Bastard return? Some part of him hoped so!

"Isn't Rutovu~ihi handsome?" Ferishiāno continued to gush about his gorgeous German. Rōman sniffed.

"The bastard certainly likes his potatoes," he muttered, remembering how many Ferishiāno's new friend had consumed. And sausage.

"I think you like Ansonī too," Ferishiāno smiled at his brother. Rōman turned bright red at Ferishiāno's observation, mainly because it was true.

"What do you mean, idiota?" he denied, hotly and unconvincingly. "There's no way I give a damn about that Tomato Bastard. Don't be such a moron!" Ferishiāno decided it was time for Rōman's next treatment.

"HUG THERAPY!" he shouted and glomped his brother. Rōman freaked out as his brother's arms enclosed him and hugged him tight, Rōman trying to untangle himself from Ferishiāno's embrace.

"WILL YOU STOP WITH THE STUPID HUG THERAPY, YOU BASTARD!" he screamed, smacking Ferishiāno upside the head and escaping his clutches. Ferishiāno rubbed his head and then forgot his brother had ever hit him.

"Ve~ I know you like him," Ferishiāno replied. "You never would have invited him for lunch if you didn't." Rōman snorted.

"I was just saying thank you," he lied. "Like you were with the Potato Bastard."

"And because I liked him," Ferishiāno admitted. "I wanted to get to get to know him better. Are you sure you don't like Ansonī just a little bit?" Rōman gave Ferishiāno a shove.

"Just go to bed, idiota!"

* * *

Everyone had gathered in Arufureddo's room in Hell, discussing the situation now that everybody was on the same page, although Ansonī was still in the dark about certain romantic aspects of the whole situation.

"We have to stay away from the Vargas Brothers," Arufureddo said. "I don't want anything jeopardizing my meetings with Mashū. Attempts on their souls might make Heaven ban all contact with me."

"For who?" Girubāto asked, sarcastically. Ansonī gave Girubāto a confused look.

"Do you want to be banned from seeing Rutovu~ihi?" Arufureddo asked him. Girubāto shook his head. Wanting to see one's brother was something Girubāto understood now he had seen his own.

"I still want to see Rōman!" Ansonī declared. "He's too cute to let go. I like it in his company!"

"Someone else who's love-struck," Girubāto sighed, although he had to admit that Mashū was awesomely adorable. He shook his head. He was getting as bad as Arufureddo.

"I would have loved to get that cute little Italian," Furanshisu said with a hint of sadness. "Ah well, c'est la vie!"

"I can't stop ya from approaching Rōman Vargas," Arufureddo said. "Just don't try to corrupt his soul or you'll have to deal with Rutovu~ihi. Remember, he's an arch-angel."

"Gracias, amigo," Ansonī replied. "I promise I won't touch Rōman's soul. I won't do anything to restrict your time with your brother. Or yours." Ansonī turned to Girubāto.

"Danke, mein freund," Girubāto said. "But what about the other problem, Iwan! He's out to get Āsā which puts both Mashū and Rutovu~ihi in the firing-line too."

"Then we have to protect them without Iwan realizing it," Arufureddo replied.

"Protect angels!" Furanshisu was shocked. "Just how do we do this treasonous act?" Girubāto had an idea.

"We pretend that they're our prey," he announced. "I'll pretend to be after Mashū and Arufureddo pretends to be hunting Āsā. That way we can stay close enough to protect them but throw Iwan off the scent."

"That might backfire somewhat, mon frère," Furanshisu warned. "If Iwan has his sights on Āsā, that will bring him into direct competition with Arufureddo." Girubāto and Arufureddo had to concede that Furanshisu had a point.

"It'll give me a reason to fight him," Arufureddo smiled. "I'll be protecting Āsā but Iwan will think I'm defending my territory."

"Fighting Iwan didn't turn out so well, last time," Girubāto pointed to Arufureddo's black hair, a souvenir from his last battle with Iwan.

"I wasn't quite a demon then," Arufureddo replied. "I'm stronger now, Iwan won't find me as easy a target this time." Girubāto admitted that was true and Arufureddo was one of the strongest demons in Hell. But Iwan was one of the most devious.

"I can't believe we're going to do this," Furanshisu said. "Guarding angels instead of corrupting souls! The universe has turned on its head."

"If you can't do this, Furanshisu," Arufureddo told him. "I won't ask you to."

"Mon frère, of course I will do this," Furanshisu replied. "You're part of the Bāto- tatchi- karutetto. We back each other up, no matter what!"

"Then we have a plan!"

* * *

Next day, while Āsā and Mashū kept watch from the roof of the restaurant and waiting for Arufureddo, Rutovu~ihi watched Ferishiāno move between the tables, delivering meals to hungry customers, smiling with his bright smile. Customers could only smile back in response and Rutovu~ihi had to smile too. The younger Italian had the purest soul, outside of children, that Rutovu~ihi had ever seen and would see in Heaven, one day. Hopefully not for a long time.

A group of satisfied diners stood up and left with a thank you and a huge tip. Ferishiāno put the tip in the tip jar to be shared among all the waiters and waitresses. Another selfless act! One thing Rutovu~ihi noticed that, while Rōman made fun of Ferishiāno for doing that, he did exactly the same thing.

The door opened and Ansonī walked in, disguised as a mortal. He saw Rutovu~ihi stood in the corner, invisible to everyone else, as he turned and glared at Ansonī. The demon smirked, knowing there was nothing the arch-angel could do about it although Ansonī had every intention of keeping his word to Arufureddo, as he explained to Āsā when the angel challenged him on the way in, but Rutovu~ihi had no way of knowing that!

"Ansonī!" Ferishiāno gave a happy cry as he spied his fratello's new friend. "You're back so soon! You want to see fratello? He's in the kitchen, why don't you go see him?" Ansonī thanked the exuberant Italian and pushed the kitchen door open.

"Hola, Rōman," he called from the door. A disgruntled voice sounded from the kitchen.

"Came back, did you, Tomato Bastard?" Rōman groused. "Well, if you're coming in here, put this on!" A hair net hit the demon in the face. Ansonī laughed, put it on and went into the kitchen. Rutovu~ihi was not happy with the Vargas Brothers accepting Ansonī so easily. There was no way they could know he was a demon but he was a stranger they had known for a day, if that and he decided he needed to be a physical presence in the lives of the two Italian brothers in order to protect them.

He left the restaurant, found a deserted a corner and hid his wings. He took on a visible form and returned to the restaurant where he was almost knocked down by a glomping Ferishiāno who was ecstatic to see his new crush.

"Rutovu~ihi!" he cried. "I'm so happy to see you again. Have you come for a meal? I'll find you a table!"

"Nein but danke!" Rutovu~ihi replied. "I was passing and I thought I would stop by to say hello."

"Ve~ That's so nice," Ferishiāno replied. "Ansonī's here too. He's talking to fratello in the kitchen." As a waiter came from the kitchen, carrying a couple of meals, Rōman's irate voice followed him out through the door.

"DON'T TOUCH MY CURL, JERK!" Rutovu~ihi frowned. Just as well the diners were far enough away not to hear that!

"What's going on in there?" he demanded. Ferishiāno sighed.

"Fratello really should be nicer to people," he said. "I think he needs more Hug Therapy!" And he moved toward the kitchen while Rutovu~ihi followed, wondering what Hug Therapy was. As they entered the kitchen, Rōman was slapping Ansonī's hand away as he reached for Rōman's curl again and Ferishiāno went up to Rōman.

"HUG THERAPY!" he cried and threw his arms around Rōman. Both Ansonī and Rutovu~ihi could not help but chuckle as Rōman tried to wriggle out of Ferishiāno's arms and cursed his 'Hug Therapy' up one side and down the other. The brothers were too cute for words.

Ansonī caught Rutovu~ihi's eye and conveyed the message that he was not a threat to Rōman's soul. Rutovu~ihi got the message.

But he was not about to drop his guard!

* * *

Mashū searched the skies as he and Āsā perched on the roof, looking out for demons, one in particular. Mashū wanted to see his brother, hoping to have more time with him this time. The idea was that, when Arufureddo arrived, they would take human form and have a meal inside the restaurant, that way they could meet out of sight of other demons who might relay that information to someone they would rather not know and also guard the Vargas Brothers while they were there.

"Did we do the right thing, letting that Spanish demon into the restaurant?" Mashū asked Āsā. "I know he said he's not here to corrupt Rōman ….."

"I know!" Āsā agreed. "But Rutovu~ihi's in there and when Arufureddo arrives, we'll be there too so the brothers will have plenty of protection." Then Āsā's eyes narrowed on a couple of specks coming toward them and it grew into two demons that he recognised as Arufureddo and Girubāto (Furanshisu stayed in Hell to run interference and distract Iwan plus having him run into Ferishiāno was a big no no!) and he nudged Mashū.

"They're here!" he said and Mashū turned to watch his brother and his friend glide in. Both he and Āsā drifted down to a deserted corner and the two demons joined them.

"Hey, bro!" Arufureddo enclosed his brother in a hug and Āsā felt slightly jealous. "Girubāto's joining us today. I'll explain when we get inside."

"Everyone ready?" Āsā asked. Everyone nodded and took on human form. Āsā was wearing a shirt and tie, covered with a green sweater vest and brown trousers while Mashū was wearing jeans and a red hooded top. Arufureddo was also wearing jeans and a t-shirt with a Captain America symbol on it while Girubāto wore black, skinny jeans and a white t-shirt. Quite an eclectic little group!

"Okay!" Arufureddo clapped his hands together. "Let's eat, I'm starved!"

And they went in to the restaurant, not noticing the little demon with short, blonde hair, violet/blue eyes and maroon-red wings and horns, spying on them as he trembled.

 **Huh oh! Guess who this little demon is! And it looks like The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto are coming over to the 'Light Side' but the chances of Arufureddo making it to Heaven look slim. You have to wait and see it that happens!**

 **To PureNinjaOtaku** **– Thank you! :D Yeah, I'm considering rewriting the summary because, looking at it, it seems a bit boring but I'm glad you gave this story a chance. I wanted to write an angel/ demon story and I love all those ships so they were going in somehow :) I wonder if we're talking about the same Manchester as I live in Britain. My grandad used to call it The Rainy City and, by strange coincidence, it did :P**

 **To Scarlet Phantom** **– Yeah! Brotherly reunions are sweet :3 I'm afraid there won't be any more, I'm trying to keep up with the ones in this already, sorry! :'( but there will be a few more familiar faces though, after all Iwan doesn't work alone DX Iwan's biding his time but you can bet he's not slacking off. All will be revealed in time! O.O**

 **To themusicalcat** **– Tell me about it! And may Hetalia ships continue to sail XD**

 **To ArtemisIsis13** **– Sorry about the cliffhangers but, you know, evil! XP Yup! The bros are together now and, with 'Ruto' guarding Rōman, they'll be seeing each other a lot more. Yeah, all that could have happened but they can't give themselves away so that was a good thing. I had to have a way to get that particular ship out there so it was Ruto to the rescue! XD and Furanshisu can indeed thank his lucky stars. Ouch! And you can bet Iwan's not finished with Āsā just yet and the crane! I bet that hurt!:D And the reunion! It was all the above XP Writer's Block still giving me grief but I won't give up, I promise!**

 **Four more angels and demons meet up for dinner and a new ship docks in Hetalia Harbour ;P I think you know who the little demon watching them is and Iwan has some unpleasant plans for Āsā. Now for some shameless story promotion, I have new story out called _Just Which Anime Is This, Anyway!_ Check it out!**

 **Till next week,**

 **Hasta la Pasta!**


	7. Vol VII

**Additional Characters**

 **Edo~uarudo - Eduard - Estonia**

 **Toriumu - Toris - Lithuania**

 **Feliks and Raivis are just the same.**

 **And on to the next chapter!**

 **Enjoy!**

 _ **Demonic Romeo Vol VII**_

Furanshisu was slightly confused by the fact that Iwan made no attempt to try and follow the rest of the Bāto- tatchi- karutetto, instead staying in Hell, surrounded by his lackeys. Furanshisu felt sorry for some of Iwan's henchmen, mainly the Baltic Trio, so-called because they had been from the Baltics in life. Edo~uarudo had been an Estonian that Iwan had tricked out of his soul by claiming a friend of his was in danger and, by selling his soul, Iwan could make sure that his friend survived. Tino was his dearest friend so Edo~uarudo did what Iwan wanted. Of course, Tino would have survived anyway.

Toriumu hailed from Lithuania and had come across Iwan when his boyfriend, Feliks, was dying of Leukaemia. Iwan told him he could make sure that Feliks recovered if Toriumu sold his soul to him. After some convincing, Toriumu agreed and Feliks began getting better. Toriumu was ecstatic but then, at the time that doctors had approximately given Feliks to live, Toriumu and Feliks went out on a boat. The boat capsized and both of them drown. Feliks went to Heaven, Toriumu went to Hell.

Then there was Raivis. No one knew why the little Latvian sold his soul, although it was suspected it had something to do with his mother and a violent father. Raivis would not talk about it!

Speaking of Raivis, where was the little demon? Furanshisu had not seen him at all today and he usually did not stray from the other two. Was he cowering away from the Russian demon? Furanshisu did not blame him!

* * *

Iwan knew Furanshisu was watching him and he smiled to himself. Staying in Hell would give the Bāto- tatchi- karutetto a false sense of security while his little spy followed them around, gathering information on their actions. Iwan could sit back and wait for Raivis to report to him.

He expected information soon!

* * *

Āsā, Mashū, Arufureddo and Girubāto came into the restaurant just as Ferishiāno and Rutovu~ihi were coming out of the kitchen and, after a word of pardon to Rutovu~ihi, Ferishiāno came to see to them.

"Welcome to _Cielo Italiano_ , gentlemen!" he greeted. "Table for four?"

"Yes, thank you," Āsā replied and Ferishiāno led them to a table but he became fascinated by one of the group. The young blonde man with the violet eyes and the curl, Ferishiāno felt that he knew from somehow. He went to get menus as the new diners seated themselves, handed them to the men and the violet eyed man was the last to take his menu.

"Scusi," Ferishiāno said to him. "But have we met before? I feel like I know you." The violet eyed man looked a little startled.

"I'm quite sure this is the first time you've ever seen me," he replied. "Perhaps I just remind you of someone?" Ferishiāno tilted his head and looked at Mashū a little more closely.

"Ve~," he said. "Maybe you're right." But Ferishiāno could not shake that feeling of recognition as he took their drinks order. Rutovu~ihi stood and watch as Ferishiāno went over to the bar to fill the orders while Āsā caught Rutovu~ihi's eye and he nodded, moving to stand near the other two angels and the two demons.

"How could he possibly know me?" Mashū whispered, looking at Ferishiāno over by the bar.

"It sometimes happens," Āsā replied. "Some humans are more sensitive than others and they might get a feeling of recognition if they see their guardian angel as a mortal. It's nothing to worry about, Mashū."

"We've come up with a idea to protect you and Mashū from Iwan without him thinking we are," Arufureddo revealed. "The plan is for Girubāto and I to pretend that we've targeted you. It'll give us a reason to stay close and keep other demons away."

"Iwan already has me targeted," Āsā replied. "Won't he see that as a challenge?"

"A legitimate reason to fight him for you!"

"I can protect myself, you know," Āsā said, grumpily, putting his menu down and crossing his arms, glaring at Arufureddo. "I did beat him, last time." Arufureddo sat back with a smirk.

"There won't always be a convenient crane to hit him with," he replied.

"I'll be watching your back as well," Girubāto said with a smirking look at Mashū. "As far as Iwan's concerned, I've got my eye on Birdie here." 'Birdie' blushed.

"What about the groping, French pervert?" Āsā asked with a note of derision.

"He's in Hell, keeping an eye on Iwan," Girubāto replied. "He'll also distract him from trying to come after us."

"Good!" Āsā replied. "The last thing we want is that deviant hanging round an innocent like Ferishiāno. I would have loved to see him try that with Rōman. He would have replied to that groping with his knee!" Both demons smirked. Or maybe grimaced.

"He can be a little feely," Girubāto agreed. "But he's not really a bad guy. He was a faithful husband when he was alive and he sold his soul to save his wife from heart disease but she died in a fire instead. Iwan, of course!"

"I understand why you all hate him," Āsā commented. "But if he should …... " He clammed up when he saw Ferishiāno returning with their drinks. He put them down in front of them and took out his notepad.

"Are you ready to order?" he asked. Each of them gave their orders while Ferishiāno, once again, looked at Mashū with that feeling of recognition again. When he had all the orders written down, he went into the kitchen while Rutovu~ihi moved closer to the group.

"Why did you let that Spanish demon in to see Rōman?" he demanded. Arufureddo answered him.

"He's not going to try for Rōman's soul," he replied. "He's on our side and he promised not to try to corrupt Rōman but as far as Iwan's concerned, he's Ansonī's prey. A reason for him to be around!" Rutovu~ihi shook his head.

"Working with any demons, let alone four," he muttered. "I'm not entirely comfortable with that. My first instinct is to fight you." Arufureddo shrugged.

"It's not exactly normal for us, either," he replied. "But if that's what I have to do to see my brother, then I'll do that. It means you and Girubāto get to see each other too so you benefit as well."

"You must admit, he has a point, bruder," Girubāto pointed out. "I'll do this to have contact with you, don't you think it's worth it?" Rutovu~ihi sighed and nodded.

"And I have the added bonus of cute Birdie's company here," Girubāto continued, leaning toward Mashū with a smirking smile and Mashū went bright red.

"Girubāto!" Arufureddo warned. Girubāto held his hands up.

"Sorry!" he said. "Can I help it if your bruder's so awesomely cute?" If possible, Mashū blushed even harder. Āsā cleared his throat and everyone looked in his direction.

"Perhaps we should stop this conversation before someone gets punched," he advised, not comfortable with Girubāto's attention toward Mashū. Mashū looked a little ill-at-ease and Arufureddo was sending warning glances to his friend and Girubāto nodded his agreement.

They changed the subject and waited for their food.

* * *

Raivis stared through the window toward the far corner where the four were sat. Two demons and two angels enjoying a meal together was not what he expected to see but there it was, in front of him. He had always envied The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto for standing up to Iwan, he wished he had the courage but he had been young when he died, terrorised by an abusive father and depended upon by an emotionally frail mother. He had always taken the less confrontational path, doing nothing that would bring down his father's fists on his mother and himself. His one act of defiance had been selling his soul to Iwan to free himself and his mother from his father's brutal grasp. After that, his father had stepped out into the road and into the path of an oncoming vehicle, not surviving. Raivis had not asked for his father to die and did not know that it was his father's destiny until after he died later when he fell from a great height, after which he found himself in Iwan's clutches.

He did not know what The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto, minus Furanshisu, were doing, hanging round with angels and was that an arch-angel hovering around them? Could it be a meeting between representatives of Heaven and Hell? That happened sometimes to discuss new rules between the two realms but not in mortal restaurants and The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto did not have the authority, to Raivis's knowledge.

He wished he could get closer to hear what they were saying but if he went in, they would sense him. Iwan would be displeased if The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto realised that he had spies watching them so he would just have to wait to see if he could find out more.

* * *

Girubāto began to behave himself around Mashū, allowing the angel to become a little more comfortable around the albino demon, although Girubāto still threw out the odd flirtatious remark, making Mashū turn red but he found himself liking the demon a little, even if Arufureddo was sending warning glances at his friend across the table.

Arufureddo, when he was not glaring at his friend to knock it off, was flirting with Āsā who was pretending not to noticed while in company but Arufureddo could see a little pleasure in the angel's green eyes at the attention of the black-haired angel. Rutovu~ihi had retreated to the kitchen with Ferishiāno and so was watching Ansonī as he hovered around Rōman, still not trusting the Spanish demon with the older Vargas brother.

The meal was coming to an end and Āsā called for the bill (mortal money was easy for angels summon), paid the bill and left a generous tip. With a 'thank you, that was delicious' to Ferishiāno and a glance at Rutovu~ihi, he left the restaurant, followed by Mashū and the two demons.

None of them saw the little Latvian demon skitter away out of sight as they stepped out into the sun, just four normal men to anyone passing by. Raivis watched the four from his hiding place as they said their goodbyes.

"I'll be by to see Mashū tomorrow," Arufureddo said. "Girubāto will be hanging around to watch our backs."

"What about Ansonī?" Āsā asked. "I know it's making Rutovu~ihi nervous, having him hanging round Rōman."

"Ansonī likes Rōman!" Girubāto was honest about that. "But he's promised not to move on Rōman's soul. It is possible for a demon and a human to have a relationship without the human's soul being corrupted, it has happened before!"

"I'm aware of that," Āsā replied. "It's just hard to trust when you've been under attack by said demon." Arufureddo chuckled.

"He knows better now," he said. "Think of him as an extra level of protection, for Mashū and Rōman!" Āsā did not say anything but he looked sceptical.

"We better go," Girubāto pointed out. "Before the other demons start to wonder where we're at. The last thing we want is them looking for us right now."

"You're right," Arufureddo concurred. "See you tomorrow, bro!" He hugged Mashū and gave Āsā a look that said 'See you tomorrow, too'

"Ja, see you, Birdie!" Girubāto grinned at Mashū who blushed again, wondering just how many times he had blushed today. The two demons and two angels went their separate ways as Raivis watched, wondering just what was going on between the two pairs. He had a feeling that it was more than he had seen and he flew away to report the meeting to Iwan.

* * *

"What were you up to back there?" Arufureddo asked as he and Girubāto flew toward the portal to Hell. "You tear me a new one over romancing an angel and now you're flirting with one?"

"What can I say?" Girubāto shrugged. "I see the attraction now. Birdie's awesomely cute and I just can't resist him, especially when he blushes."

"Do I need to point out that he's my brother?"

"I'm not going to hurt him, Arufureddo," Girubāto promised. "I give you my awesome word. Besides, I'm just flirting. I don't know where this is going to go but I promise, I won't mess him around."

"You'd better not!"

* * *

"What going on between you and my brother?" Mashū asked. Āsā was so surprised at the question that his wings lost beat and he dropped a little.

"What do you mean?" he said, shakily. He had not been expecting that question from Mashū.

"I'm not blind, Āsā," Mashū replied. "Nor stupid! I saw the looks between you and my brother and then that question you asked Romyurasu and U~Orufugangu about redeeming demons. I know you were asking that for Arufureddo so what's going on between you two?" Āsā blushed this time. Mashū smiled.

"You like him!" he teased. "You like my brother!" Āsā scowled.

"And what about you and Girubāto?" he replied. "I saw him talking to you and you were blushing. It wasn't all from embarrassment either." And Mashū blushed. Again!

"He's not so bad," he said, sheepishly. "He made me nervous at first but he's quite nice when you get to know him better." Āsā sighed as they flew onward.

"Looks like we both have it bad."

* * *

Furanshisu was still keeping an eye on Iwan when his two friends flew in and they went to Arufureddo's rooms, out of Iwan's sight. They shut the door tight and settled down to talk.

"Where's Ansonī?" Furanshisu asked the others.

"Still chasing that Italian restaurateur," Girubāto replied. "What been happening at this end?"

"Nothing!" Furanshisu replied. "Iwan hasn't left Hell at all. Not following you guys, not soul hunting or even angel hunting! It's unusual and a little unnerving, the way he's just sitting tight. I think he's up to something."

"It's Iwan!" Arufureddo stated. "He's always up to something but what can he get up to, staying in Hell?"

"I don't know," Furanshisu replied. "But I don't like it! And I haven't seen his little lackey, Raivis all day either."

"But what can Raivis do?" Girubāto asked. "He's not exactly the strongest demon around here!"

"If he's missing on Iwan's orders, I'd worry," Furanshisu commented. "Iwan generally has a plan and doesn't leave much to chance."

"I agree," Arufureddo concurred. "We need to start keeping an eye on Iwan's lackeys if he's using them instead of doing his own dirty work." Furanshisu groaned.

"We're going to have our work cut out for us!"

* * *

Raivis was stood in Iwan's chambers, trembling at the powerful demon he was facing.

"So Arufureddo and Girubāto sat down to dinner with two angels, did they?" he asked Raivis who nodded, nervously.

"There was an arch-angel in mortal guise too," Raivis added. Iwan considered the facts. If there was an arch-angel involved then Heaven was aware of what was happening and Iwan had no doubt that one of the angels was Āsā and he guessed that the other was probably Mashū. Having a crane dropped on him was a humiliation for which Iwan intended to exact revenge but he still wanted to to convert Āsā who could be a demon to rival many in Hell but some punishment was due, no matter how much he had impressed Iwan.

"Do you know what they discussed?" he demanded. Raivis shook his head with a frightened expression.

"They were in the restaurant," he squeaked. "I couldn't go in without them sensing me! I'm sorry, Iwan! Please don't hurt me!"

"Don't worry, little Raivis," Iwan replied, rubbing Raivis's head and pressing down until Raivis was almost wincing with pain. "You did the right thing! We can't have them knowing they're being watched, can we?" Raivis shook his head, still scared.

"Now, you will be a good little spy," Iwan ordered. "Keep watching them and, should you find Āsā alone, I want you to tell me immediately. Da?"

"Yes, Iwan," Raivis replied and sighed with relief when he was given permission to leave.

Alone, Iwan thought about his enemies and the angel who had evaded him, not once but twice. He would have to make an example of Āsā to prove that there was a consequence to defying him but he would not permanently harm Āsā. He had been considering taking a permanent mate and Āsā was firmly in Iwan's sights.

But he needed to be corrupted first!

 **Oh boy! Iwan has some very bad intentions toward Āsā and knows more than is healthy for The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto. You can bet this will get serious D:**

 **To ArtemisIsis13** **– I know! I want to hug them too :3 And angels and demons having dinner together might seem normal before this story is over :P Don't be too hard on U~Orufugangu and Romyurasu, they don't make the rules :'( and true! It will be an almost impossible thing to pull off! ): Yep! Ansonī wooing Rōman under the intense watch of arch-angel Ruto is going to be interesting! O.O Iwan's already suspicious of Arufureddo and the others so he might not be fooled! Yes, it was Latvia and, as for the Captain America t-shirt, I couldn't resist! :D and I'm afraid that there are more cliffhangers on the horizon. Hmm, maybe Ansoman? Nah, that sucks! I can't think of anything for the others either but more Asafureddo is on the way, I promise! :)**

 **To themusicalcat** **– Yes! A whole fleet of ships and Brotherly Love! Isn't it a beautiful thing? :3 Innocent demons is a contradiction in terms but then, it was one of Iwan's deal so yeah, Little Raivis is an innocent little demon! :)**

 **A confrontation with Iwan is looming and things will be coming to a head soon. And there'll be something for the fan-girls too as certain ships get closer. I've changed the summary on this story to something I hope is a little less dull and I managed to write nearly a thousand words without stalling nearly every sentence so things are looking up. Fingers crossed! X**

 **So till next week,**

 **Hasta la Pasta!**


	8. Vol VIII

**Time to get a new laptop! Mine finally gave out and I'm typing this on my Dad's. Technology, eh! Well, on to the next chapter.**

 **I don't own Hetalia!**

 _ **Demonic Romeo Vol VIII**_

When the restaurant closed, Rutovu~ihi and Ansonī were still beside their respective Italian brother. Rutovu~ihi refused to leave while Ansonī was still hanging around and that lead to Ferishiāno issuing an invitation.

"Ve~ why don't the two of you join us for a drink?" he asked while Rōman locked up the restaurant but that did not stop him from staring at his brother as if to say _What are the **bleep** are you doing, idiota?_

"Si!" Ansonī agreed, immediately. "That's sounds like a great idea." Ferishiāno turned to Rutovu~ihi, hopefully. Rutovu~ihi was powerless against Ferishiāno's pleading face, although he told himself it was to keep an eye on Ansonī who he still did not trust, no matter how many assurances he was given to the contrary.

"Ja," he replied, making Ferishiāno beam with happiness. "I would like that!" Rōman rolled his eyes and accepted that this was going to happen.

"Okay, bastards!" he said, putting the keys in his pocket. "Let's go then. Time's getting on and we have to work tomorrow so if you want a drink, move it!" And after that charming invitation, the group of four made their way to an unknown destination.

* * *

Rutovu~ihi was less than pleased to find out that they had arrived at the home of the Vargas Brothers and Ferishiāno invited both demon and arch-angel in. This meant that Ansonī would have unfettered access to the house but, on the plus side, it meant that Rutovu~ihi did as well.

The Vargas home was a modest but comfortable looking house on a quiet street and was comfortably furnished. After being invited to sit down, the arch-angel and demon were offered their drinks and Rutovu~ihi asked for beer while Ansonī was given red wine.

"Ve~ Did you know those four men, Rutovu~ihi?" Ferishiāno asked. "The four who came in for a meal?" Rutovu~ihi thought fast.

"Ja," he replied. "I know Āsā and Mashū. We work together."

"Really!" Ferishiāno said. "What do you do?"

"Protection services," Rutovu~ihi gave Ansonī a hard stare who did his best to ignore it.

"Like hired security?" Rōman asked. With the muscles that Rutovu~ihi had, he could believe it.

"Nein," Rutovu~ihi replied. "We don't protect people who have the money to pay. We protect innocent people at risk, people we're assigned to."

"Is that why you move around a lot?" Ferishiāno asked.

"Ja," Rutovu~ihi replied. "My current assignment is close by." Rutovu~ihi did not clarify HOW close.

"Who was looking out for your assignment while you and your friends were hanging out at our restaurant, Potato Bastard?" Rōman asked Rutovu~ihi. Rutovu~ihi ignored the Potato Bastard part.

"We're a large team," Rutovu~ihi replied, evasively. "It has a lot of members."

"Ve~ What do you do for a living, Ansonī?" Rōman pretended not to be interested in Ansonī's answer.

"Acquisitions," Ansonī replied. Rutovu~ihi nearly choked on his beer. Is that what demons called it these days!

"What do you acquire?" Rōman asked. It would be just his luck that Acquisitions meant that Ansonī was someone who stole valuable items or maybe he was interested in 'acquiring' the restaurant.

"I recruit people of interest," Ansonī replied. Rōman took this to mean that Ansonī was a head-hunter for some company while Rutovu~ihi knew that Ansonī meant he collected souls for Hell and gave him a disgusted look that, fortunately, both Vargas brothers missed. Rutovu~ihi took a sip of his beer as he assessed the situation. He was not leaving before Ansonī, that he was certain about but even if Ansonī left, he could come back any time. He would have to report this to the Higher-ups.

"I think we have kept our hosts up for long enough," he said, hinting at the demon to leave. "As they said, they must work tomorrow. We should leave them to their rest." Ansonī decided not to test the arch-angel.

"Si," he agreed, standing up. "We should go now. I'll see you some other time, Rōman."

"Whatever, Tomato Bastard!"

"Ve~ I'll see you out," Ferishiāno said as both arch-angel and demon went to the door. Outside, Ansonī said his goodbyes and quickly left while Rutovu~ihi breathed a sigh of relief as Ansonī walked away.

"Ve~ Will I see you again?" Ferishiāno asked.

"I'm not sure," Rutovu~ihi replied but Ferishiāno looked a little crest-fallen and Rutovu~ihi did not like that. "But I will try." Ferishiāno lit up at the promise.

"Yay!" he cried, jumping up and down on his front step. He lost his footing and slipped. Rutovu~ihi caught him but was off-balance and both of them fell to the floor and Ferishiāno's lips accidentally crashed down on Rutovu~ihi's.

Rutovu~ihi's eyes widened in shock as he felt Ferishiāno's soft lips on his. Ferishiāno was shocked when he found his lips on firm, warm ones and it took a moment for both of them to realise that Rutovu~ihi's arms were still wrapped around Ferishiāno.

Ferishiāno broke the kiss and look down at the stunned Rutovu~ihi and panicked.

"Ve~ I'm sorry!" he cried. "It was an accident! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm …..." Rutovu~ihi shut him up by kissing him again and this time he broke the kiss.

"You'll will see me again," he promised.

And Ferishiāno kissed him back.

* * *

The next day, while Rutovu~ihi hovered in the background, Āsā and Mashū watched as Ferishiāno practically skipped around the restaurant, taking orders with a bigger smile than usual and, generally cheering up everyone who saw him, even if they came into the restaurant in a bad mood.

"He's even happier than usual," Mashū commented as Ferishiāno drew a smile from a little boy who was screaming for ice-cream.

"Ve~ It's called gelato in here, Little Signore," Ferishiāno said, tapping the little boy playfully on the nose. "Let's see what's in the freezer." He disappeared into the kitchen while the little boy jumped up and down excitedly.

"He does seem more cheerful than normal," Āsā agreed.

"Ja," Rutovu~ihi replied and blushed a little which was not missed by the other two angels.

"Did something happen after we left?" Āsā asked and the arch-angel blushed even harder. "It did, didn't it?"

"The Vargas brothers invited the demon and I for a drink," Rutovu~ihi replied, embarrassed. "And then Ferishiāno and I …..." He said the last word too quiet for Āsā and Mashū to hear.

"You and Ferishiāno what?" Mashū probed.

"We kissed!" Rutovu~ihi went bright red. Āsā and Mashū looked at each other. Then Āsā began to laugh and Mashū could not stop grinning.

"So the big, tough arch-angel has finally fallen!" Āsā chortled. "It would take someone like Ferishiāno to make that happen! Well, I'm very happy for you, both of you!"

"It was just a kiss!" Rutovu~ihi denied. "Besides, I'm an angel, he's a mortal!"

"So! He's not your assignment," Āsā replied. "Rōman is! There are no rules about loving a mortal, just not the one you're protecting." Angels could love mortals but it was kind of like doctors not being allowed to have a relationship with any of their patients. Rutovu~ihi, having a relationship with Rōman would be a big no-no but Ferishiāno would be fine.

"He's just grateful that I saved him from that perverted demon," Rutovu~ihi said. "And it was an accident, anyway. He fell, I caught him and our lips connected."

"The arch-angel doth protest too much, me thinks," Āsā quoted to Mashū.

"Me thinks so, too," Mashū replied and Rutovu~ihi blushed again.

"It may not come to anything," he muttered. Ferishiāno came out with a bowl of 'gelato' for the little boy, on the house. Still with the happy smile on his face!

"Oh, it will come to something," Āsā predicted. And if Rutovu~ihi was honest, he was not entirely unhappy at the idea.

* * *

Arufureddo was making his way to the portal out to the mortal world with the rest of the Bāto- tatchi- karutetto walking beside him. Arufureddo and Girubāto were looking forward to seeing their brothers and Ansonī would 'stalk' Rōman. Furanshisu would act as lookout.

"Arufureddo!" Iwan's voice called out to the foursome and they all winced but stopped. If they ignored him, he would follow them and they did not want that.

"What do you want, Iwan?" Arufureddo huffed, not wanting to spend any more time in the Russian demon's company than necessary. "We have things we want to do." The Russian came up to the group with the same creepy smile.

"I hear you and Girubāto sat down to dinner with some unusual companions," he said, smile still on his face. "Was your meal with angels enjoyable?" Arufureddo and Girubāto stiffened. How did he know?

"I know one of them is your brother," the look on Iwan's face disturbed all of them. "When are you going to bring him down here?"

"When I get the other one," Arufureddo replied, mockingly. "The one I fooled into thinking I won't corrupt my own brother. 'The Uncorrupted' I believe! You failed twice, let's see what I can do." Iwan's dark aura fell around him and he 'kolkolkol'ed under his breath.

"And I'll even keep my promise," Arufureddo continued. "I won't corrupt Mashū, I could never do that to my brother so Girubāto's going to. So I'll get The Uncorrupted and Mashū. Win, win!" Iwan produced his pipe and waved it threateningly under Arufureddo's nose.

"I'm not finished with Āsā," he warned. "He's still my prey!" Arufureddo took out his pistol and pointed it under Iwan's chin. Girubāto, Ansonī and Furanshisu held their breaths.

"I beg to differ," Arufureddo replied. "Your direct approach hasn't work for you so far. In fact, the last I heard, Āsā hit you with a crane. How embarrassing!" The kolkolkols got louder.

"My approach is more subtle," Arufureddo smiled. "He won't know he's corrupted until it's happened. He already thinks he can trust me and that means Mashū thinks he can trust Girubāto. Face it, Iwan! I'm closer than you've ever gotten!" The dark aura remained but Iwan smiled again.

"Then I wish you luck," he said and walked away. The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto watched as he left.

"That was weird," Furanshisu commented. "Do you think he bought it, mon ami?" Arufureddo shrugged.

"Perhaps we shouldn't go straight to the restaurant, amigo," Ansonī advised. "If he knew about you two having dinner with The Uncorrupted and your brother. Who knows how he found out about that!"

"I think that's a good idea," Girubāto agreed. "In fact, I think we should split up, wander around for a while and meet up at the restaurant, just in case." Arufureddo nodded.

"Good plan!"

* * *

Iwan did not go far. As he watched the group move out, he thought about the confrontation and Arufureddo's little act because that was what Iwan believed it to be. An act! It was well performed but Iwan did not quite buy it. He knew that Arufureddo had yet to corrupted a single soul. True he was still a relatively young demon but still. Enough time had passed for at least one corruption but Arufureddo's record was still clean. Iwan did not think Arufureddo's heart was in it so this _'I'm after The Uncorrupted and my brother'_ did not ring true.

He signalled and Raivis came, trembling to his side, followed by Toriumu.

"Follow them!" he ordered. "But stick with Arufureddo in particular. Any unusual activity, send Raivis to tell me." Both demons nodded and left, leaving Iwan to stare in the direction The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto had taken.

"The American will not get The Uncorrupted! He's mine!"

* * *

Āsā was practising with his bow, aiming at smaller and smaller targets, moving ones at that. He felt the need to hone his skills. He had the awful premonition that he would need every ounce of his ability very soon, especially in light of Iwan's rather worrying attention.

Two moving balls of light shot in front of him and he concentrated on splitting his arrow into two and fired. The two arrows hit both targets with expert ease and a new arrow appeared in Āsā's bow, ready for the next shot.

"You're being particularly diligent today," Romyurasu's voice came from behind him. Āsā turned to address the other angel.

"I want to be at my best at this time," he replied. "If Iwan's hanging around, it's not good and I want to be able to keep my ward safe." Romyurasu sighed.

"My suggestion to assign someone else to Rōman was not a criticism of your skills, Āsā," he assured him. "It just that right now ….."

"I'm a target!" Āsā finished. "And Rōman and, indeed, Ferishiāno could get caught in the middle. I understand that, I do! It's just that I don't want to leave my job half done. A new angel won't be as used to Rōman as I am. He can come across as a little …..weeelll..." Romyurasu smiled.

"I know what you mean," he replied. "Rōman can be rather irascible and aggressive. He just doesn't trust anyone easily and you're right! Another angel might not understand that but still..."

"I'll do what it takes to protect both of your grandsons," Āsā promised. "And so will Mashū, I'm sure." Romyurasu smiled.

"I know you will," he replied. Āsā's head suddenly tilted as if he were sensing something.

"I better go," he said. "Rōman's left the house."

"I'll leave you to it then."

* * *

Rōman and Ferishiāno arrived at the restaurant and Rōman was a little disappointed that Ansonī was not waiting for him but he shrugged it off as he opened the restaurant and he and Ferishiāno began setting things up for the day. The waiters and waitresses began arriving, ready for the lunchtime crowd and Ferishiāno looked out for Rutovu~ihi, not knowing that he was already there, watching over him and his brother, alongside Āsā and Mashū.

Diners seeking lunch began to drift in and Rōman drifted between tables along with the other waiters and waitresses while it was Ferishiāno's turn to be the chef. It was hard to pick which brother was the better chef so nobody tried. Then the lunchtime rush slowed and they were able to take things a little easier so Romano sat down with a glass of wine by the window.

"He's waiting for that demon to show up," Rutovu~ihi was not happy with that. "He pretends he isn't but he's completely smitten with that devil." Āsā patted him on the shoulder.

"He's not here yet," he reassured him. "You don't have to worry about him right now. So, you can go work your charm on Ferishiāno. I'm here to watch over Rōman, go on." And he pushed Rutovu~ihi toward the exit.

Rutovu~ihi left the restaurant and went into the alley, leading to the back door to the kitchen and took mortal form. Then he knocked on the door and Ferishiāno answered.

"Rutovu~ihi!" he cried in happiness and pulled the arch-angel into the kitchen. Ferishiāno had been cleaning up and had not quite finished so Rutovu~ihi gave him a hand and the kitchen was soon clean and ready for the next rush.

"Ve~ Thank you, Rutovu~ihi," Ferishiāno said. "I'm so happy you came."

"Well, I did promise I would come back," Rutovu~ihi replied. Ferishiāno began to play with the apron he was wearing as he seemed to struggle with what he wanted to say next.

"Ve~ Rutovu~ihi," he began and then he hesitated a little. "Would you, hmm …. I mean …. well ….. I was thinking …...?"

"Yes, I will go on a date with you," Rutovu~ihi was amused at Ferishiāno's nervousness but he took pity on him and jumped in with everything else. Ferishiāno's face lit up and he hugged Rutovu~ihi and Rutovu~ihi hugged him back.

"When?" Ferishiāno asked, hoping it would be that night or, at least, tomorrow.

"I'm not sure," Rutovu~ihi replied. "My work schedule is a little uncertain right now but I promise, I will find time for our date."

"Ve~," Ferishiāno said and hugged Rutovu~ihi again.

* * *

Arufureddo sensed that he was being followed almost immediately and even more so when The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto split up so he went in the opposite direction to the restaurant. He found a populated area and made a performance of scouting for souls, hoping that whoever it was would get bored and just leave but they were either too tenacious or too scared. Arufureddo had to go to the restaurant, despite having a shadow. He would have to treat Āsā like he was the angel he was hoping to corrupt by using his own brother. The idea made Arufureddo feel sick but there was no way around it.

He took off and headed for the restaurant.

* * *

Raivis and Toriumu had spend half the day following Arufureddo who did not seem to be doing anything out of the ordinary. Just flying around, looking for potential corruptible candidates and then he flew to the restaurant Raivis had followed him to last time and watched him go in.

Inside the restaurant, Ansonī and Girubāto had already arrived. Ansonī was in mortal form while Girubāto remained invisible, as did Mashū and Āsā, watching over Rōman while Rutovu~ihi was still a physical presence in the kitchen with Ferishiāno.

"Hello, Mashū," Arufureddo greeted his brother, barely giving Āsā a glance, making the angel wonder what was wrong but then Arufureddo caught his eye and flicked his own toward the window, making Āsā realise right away that they might not be alone.

"Hello, Arufureddo," Mashū replied when Arufureddo hugged him. He had seen the unspoken message between Āsā and Arufureddo and caught on to what was going on. "Did you have any trouble getting here?" Arufureddo smiled at his brother.

"Nothing I couldn't handle, bro," he replied, letting both Mashū and Āsā know that there had been a problem.

"Don't worry, Arufureddo," Girubāto smirked. "I've been looking after Mashū for you." Mashū went red while Girubāto threw an arm around his shoulder. Rōman went into the kitchen, followed by Ansonī and the invisible angels and demons followed them.

"Yuck," came Rōman's voice from the kitchen. "Why don't you two get a room?" Everyone went in to the kitchen to see the sight of Rutovu~ihi with arms around Ferishiāno. Rutovu~ihi turned to see Āsā and Mashū grinning at him, the two demons smirking and he let go of Ferishiāno.

"I hope all you did was hug, Potato Bastard," Rōman berated the arch-angel. "Anything else is _bleeping_ unhygienic." Ferishiāno came toward his brother with his arms open.

"Any more Hug Therapy and I'll stab you with a spatula," Rōman promised and Ferishiāno wisely backed off. Rōman huffed and turned his gaze on Rutovu~ihi. "Are you going to be here all damned day?" Rutovu~ihi took the hint.

"I'd better go," he replied. "I'll see later." Ferishiāno kissed him on the cheek and he went out of the kitchen door.

"Ve~ Why did you scare him off, Rōman?" Ferishiāno pouted. "He helped me clean everything up."

"But not get anything ready for the next rush," Rōman snapped, pulling out ingredients to prepare more food for the next rush. "Get your lazy ass moving!" Ferishiāno began chopping vegetables ready to be cooked while Rutovu~ihi came back into the kitchen in his invisible arch-angel form.

"You're not getting out of it if you're staying," Rōman said, grabbing Ansonī and giving him a hairnet, a chopping board and a paring knife, making him peel vegetables for Ferishiāno to chop up. Arufureddo and Girubāto were laughing their heads off.

"Makes a perfect little wife, ja?" Girubāto chortled. When the Vargas Brothers were not looking, Ansonī flipped Girubāto off.

And that was the routine throughout the rest of the day, with Ferishiāno stepping in and out with meals, helping the other waiters and waitresses while Rōman kept the food coming. Eventually, the door closed after the last of the diners departed, the waiters and waitresses went home and the kitchen was cleaned. After making sure that everything was turned off and the security alarm was switched on, Rōman, Ferishiāno, Ansonī along with the hidden Arufureddo, Girubāto, Rutovu~ihi, Āsā and Mashū were stood outside while Rōman locked the restaurant.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Rōman," Ansonī promised and to annoy Rutovu~ihi, and because he wanted to, Ansonī leant over and kissed Rōman. Rōman was shocked for a moment and then he shove Ansonī away from him.

"Pervert!" he said, half-heartedly, grabbing Ferishiāno and storming away. Ansonī winked at the others and left. Rutovu~ihi had a face like thunder.

"I swear I'm going kill that demon," he fumed and they all began to follow the Vargas Brothers home. After a trip home full of Ferishiāno ve~ing over Rōman's kiss and Rōman slapping him around his head, they arrived safe and only when they were inside did the angels relax.

"Well, that's us for the time being," Āsā commented and look up at the night sky. "Time for us to go."

"I wish we could spend longer together," Mashū said, wistfully looking at Arufureddo. Rutovu~ihi nodded in agreement.

"That would be nice," he replied, looking at Girubāto. Girubāto thought for a moment and then reached beneath his clothes, undid a chain and pulled out an iron cross necklace. He took his bruder's hand and put the cross in it.

"Look after this for me, bruder," he ordered. Rutovu~ihi looked down at the necklace and closed his hand around it.

"I will!" he promised. The two of them hugged. Rutovu~ihi turned back to Āsā and Mashū.

"I'll see you back in Heaven," Rutovu~ihi replied and, with one last look at Girubāto, took to the sky. Girubāto stretched his wings out and turned to Arufureddo.

"And I'll see you in Hell," he said and turned to Mashū. "See you, Birdie!" And he left for Hell while Arufureddo turned to the two angels.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Mashū," he promised and turned to Āsā. "Can I talk to you before you go?" Āsā turned to Mashū.

"I'll see back in Heaven," he told him and Mashū nodded and hugged his brother.

"See you, Arufureddo," he said and took off. Arufureddo took Āsā's hand and pulled him into the air.

"Come with me," he said and they flew into the sky. Raivis and Toriumu watched them as they rose into the air.

"Where are they going?" Raivis asked. Toriumu gave Raivis an opal stone, a twin to one he had.

"I'll follow them," he replied. "You go tell Iwan and use the stone to find me" The stone would glow brightly in the direction of its twin and would lead Raivis back to Toriumu. Raivis began winging his way to Hell while Toriumu followed the pair, hidden by the dark night sky.

* * *

Arufureddo flew around looking for a likely spot and saw a deserted park and flew down, hand in hand with Āsā. They drifted down toward a small lake and landed on the grass. After a look round to make sure no angels or demons were lucking about, Arufureddo turned to Āsā.

"Sorry about being off-hand earlier," he told him. "I know I was being followed. I had to be careful and not give them anything to carry back to certain people."

"Such as Iwan?" Āsā asked.

"Yeah!" Arufureddo replied. "As far as he's concern, I'm after you and Girubāto's after Mashū. I think it's safer that he continues to think so. I've already been challenged as your hunter, I'd hate to think how he would react if he knew about us."

Toriumu was perched in a tree, listening to every word and wondered what Arufureddo was talking about. It sounded almost like …..

No, it could not be that!

"Is Mashū and the Vargas Brothers in any danger?" Āsā asked. Arufureddo shook his head.

"Not right now," he reassured Āsā. "Beside, they have plenty of protection. We need to worry about ourselves. I may have made you an even bigger target than before, Iwan will try to take you from me if only to beat me. I'm sorry, Āsā!"

Toriumu was more and more confused by Arufureddo. He was talking like he was protecting the angel. That cannot be right!

"Can't be helped now," Āsā replied. "We'll just have to take things as they come. Iwan will find that I'm no easy target if he hasn't realised it already." Toriumu jumped when something landed on the branch beside him and he looked round to see Iwan beside him, Raivis and Edo~uarudo in another tree. Iwan stared down at the couple as Arufureddo took Āsā's face in his hands.

"I still worry," he said. "You're as important to me as Mashū now. I love you, Āsā!" And he kissed Āsā deeply and passionately. Āsā was drowning in the feeling of Arufureddo's lips on his and the feeling of his arms wrapping around him and holding him tight. Arufureddo had wanted to do this all day. Now he finally had his angel in his arms, he was going to make the most of it. The moment was perfect.

And came to an end with a kolkolkol!

"Well, isn't this sweet, comrade!"

 **Oh no! The secret is out and you can count on Iwan to ruin a sweet moment and he hasn't finished, believe me! I've got one more chapter to write and I'm done! Yay!**

 **To Scarlet Phantom** **– One confrontation, coming up! And Raivis is a good, if unwilling, spy. I hope the finale is everything you're hoping for and I've got something special planned for the last chapter so stay tuned! ;D**

 **To ArtemisIsis13** **– Just in time! I feel sorry for them too but I have plans for the Baltic Trio so watch out for that. And what Iwan would do to Raivis if he is found doesn't bear thinking about! D: And, yes, it is the same Tino that Eduard wanted to save. I kind of imagine Ferishiāno as a very sensitive sort and might recognize Mashū on some kind of De Ja Vu level and Arufureddo goes into protective Big Brother mode where Mashū is concerned. What do you think of Girushu? Yeah! Iwan's plan for Āsā!** ** _Shudder!_ I don't think that would sit well with anyone D: Unfortunately, I think more angel/demon dinners might have to be put on hold for a while with Iwan finding out about Arufureddo and Āsā DX And Romonsoni is cute! :3 And maybe Rutiano! It's the best I can come up with and, yeah, Warning! Cliffhangers ahead! (Heads up, next weeks is a big one!)**

 **Things take a desperate turn and all hell will break loose. Literally! And lives will be endangered as the situation turns explosive! Time to raise Hell!**

 **Till the next time,**

 **Hasta la Pasta!**


	9. Vol IX

**Well, I thought for a moment there that this chapter wouldn't be posted today when I couldn't get into my Fanfiction account but, fortunately it was fixed in time so here we go!**

 **Additional** **Characters**

 **Erizavu~eēta - Elizaveta - Hungary**

 **I do not own Hetalia!**

 _ **Demonic Romeo Vol IX**_

Arufureddo and Āsā's kiss broke and they both turned toward the voice. Flanked by his three lackeys, Edo~uarudo, Toriumu and Raivis, Iwan stood with a big smile on his face. And a dark aura around him.

"Such a tender moment," he cooed, creepily. "Or would be if you weren't a demon and an angel. Tut, tut, Arufureddo. Or should I call you traitor?" Arufureddo grabbed Āsā and pulled him along with him.

"RUN!" he screamed at Āsā who did as he was told and they took to the air.

"AFTER THEM!" Iwan ordered as he flew after them, followed by his henchman and the race was on!

Arufureddo and Āsā soared high into the sky and began making for the cloud bank in the distance. If they could make it to that, there was a chance they could lose the following demons, Iwan in the lead. The flapping of their wings were getting close so Arufureddo and Āsā tried to fly faster. The cloud bank was so tantalizingly close.

Iwan was furious. He knew Arufureddo was not serious about hunting Āsā and Mashū but the idea of a love affair between the American demon and the one Iwan had picked out for himself was more than the Russian could stand and, from what Toriumu had told him, Arufureddo had no intention of corrupting Āsā. Arufureddo would be hunted now as a traitor to Hell. And when Iwan caught Āsā, he would make sure that the Brit felt his wrath as he worked slowly to corrupt the angel's soul.

The cloud bank came slowly toward Arufureddo and Āsā, too slowly for either of their liking. Arufureddo took out his gun and, without looking backwards, pointed it behind him and fired. Iwan saw the gun and flew out of the way but Toriumu panicked when the bullet flew past his hair and he collided with Edo~uarudo who was flying a little too close to him and Raivis had to stop hard to avoid flying into them both. It bought Arufureddo and Āsā just enough time as they disappeared into the cloud cover.

White mist surrounded them as they went in deep but kept changing direction rather than going straight. As the other demons flew into the clouds, their vision was obscured and so could not see their quarry but that also meant that their quarry could not see them. It would be like a game of cat and mouse. With both blindfolded.

Arufureddo held on tight to Āsā's hand to prevent him from getting lost while listening for any sounds, flapping their own wings as softly as they could without losing height, not they could see if they were drifting downward, anyway. There was a whoosh to the right of them as Edo~uarudo passed by, not seeing the demon and angel mere feet away from him and then there was the sound of a collision.

"Humph!" Raivis's voice grunted and the sound of Edo~uarudo saying, "Sorry! Can't see a thing!" Arufureddo looked at Āsā and put his finger to his lips.

"Be quiet!" Iwan ordered. "If we can't see them, they can't see us but they can hear us. Edo~uarudo, you search with me! Toriumu, fly above the clouds and Raivis, fly below them. Call out if you see them!"

Damn! They should have flown out of the clouds the moment they lost them but now above and below would be watched. They had to find a way out. Arufureddo thought hard. Down would be easier but it meant dealing with Raivis which made him feel kind like of a bully. But if they could somehow get the drop on him …..

Arufureddo pointed down and Āsā slowed the flapping of his wings, feeling gravity take hold. The mist seemed endless until clear air began to appear around their feet. Arufureddo then turned until he was face down and looked around.

Their luck held. Raivis was there but he was looking away from them. Arufureddo gauged how far away from them he was and pulled Āsā back into the clouds and began to moving toward Raivis until he was almost right above him. Signalling for Āsā to stay in the clouds, Arufureddo took another peak downwards to make sure that Raivis was still oblivious to their presence.

Raivis looked around to see if Arufureddo and his angel boyfriend had broken cover yet but he did not look up. A mistake he discovered to his cost when suddenly he was seized in a pair of strong arms and rendered immobile by Arufureddo who put a hand over his mouth.

"Come on, Āsā," he whispered as the angel appeared from the mist. Āsā pointed to Raivis.

"What do we do about him?" he asked. Arufureddo looked at the little demon.

"He'll have to come with us for now," he replied and the little group flew away from the clouds containing the other demons who were oblivious to the fact that their prey had escaped.

* * *

They left Raivis tied up but unharmed in another park and then found an abandoned church where Arufureddo could hide, not exactly surroundings that Arufureddo was comfortable in but, as Āsā pointed out, it was not a place that other demons were likely to look and beggars could not be choosers.

"I'm going to try to find a way to fix this," Āsā promised. "There must be some way of protecting you from the other demons. If there is, someone in Heaven must know of it!" Arufureddo took Āsā's face in his hands.

"I should be protecting you," he said and lightly kiss the angel. Āsā moved into Arufureddo's embrace.

"You can't fight all of Hell," he replied. Arufureddo realised something.

"My friends!" he exclaimed. "Iwan will accuse them of betraying Hell too. They'll be in danger, I can't leave them to face the music alone." He went to leave but Āsā stood in his way.

"Every demon will be looking for you," he warned. "You go into Hell, you'll be dead before you even find your friends." Āsā thought for a moment then he snapped his fingers.

"I'll go see Rutovu~ihi and his grandfather," he said. "They should know a way to at least warned them. I'll go now!" Arufureddo grabbed Āsā.

"Iwan's looking for you too!" he stated. "You don't expect me to let you go out there alone, do you?" Āsā took Arufureddo's face in his hands this time.

"Arufureddo, Arufureddo, Arufureddo!" he said. "Have you never wondered how we angels get to Heaven?" He lightly kissed the demon and let him go. Then he walked up to the derelict altar with the dusty cross stood on it, stopped and held his arms out to the sides. The cross began to glow and bathed the guardian angel in light and Āsā turned back to look at Arufureddo.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," he promised as the light was sucked back into the cross, taking Āsā with it. Arufureddo stood, stunned at the vision that had happened in front of him. When the light disappeared, taking his love with him, it felt almost unbearably dark and desolate. He wanted to leave to find and warned his friends but he realised Āsā was right. He would be found and killed before he could get near.

He looked at the altar, wondering if he dared and then thought, What the Hell! He had nothing to lose and maybe it would help. So he knelt down before the altar and prayed for his friends, Mashū, Āsā, in fact, for everyone he loved.

Even if Heaven was unlikely to listen to a demon!

* * *

Āsā hurried to find U~Orufugangu and Romyurasu, time being of the essence. He did not find Romyurasu but he found the most important one, U~Orufugangu, who was talking to his grandson.

"U~Orufugangu," he said, urgently. "We have a problem. The Soul Thief found out that Arufureddo's been meeting with us. He's been declared a traitor and every demon in Hell will soon be looking for him."

"Mashū's demon brother?" U~Orufugangu asked. "Does Mashū know?"

"Not yet," Āsā replied. "I haven't seen Mashū yet! But we need help!" U~Orufugangu shook his head.

"I've already told you," he said. "As much as I might want to, without a soul, we can't bring a demon into Hell." Āsā waved that away.

"That's not the problem," he told him. "I've found a safe place for Arufureddo for the time being. The problem is Arufureddo's friends. They don't know either and the first thing Iwan will do is declared the rest of The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto traitors as well."

"Girubāto!" Rutovu~ihi realised. U~Orufugangu went pale.

"There must be some way we can warn them!" Āsā plead. U~Orufugangu thought for a moment.

"There's one way," he said. "As blood relations of Girubāto, we could contact him but we're lacking one thing."

"What?"

"We need a focus point," U~Orufugangu replied. "Something of Girubāto we can concentrate our thoughts through. But we don't have that." Rutovu~ihi put his hand in his pocket and pulled out the iron cross.

"Girubāto gave me this tonight," he said and Āsā and U~Orufugangu began to feel hope.

* * *

Girubāto's head was filled with thoughts of his awesome Birdie as he made his way through Hell, looking for Ansonī. He had given Arufureddo a hard time about his feelings for Āsā but here he was, doing the exact same thing. Was that not irony at its very finest!

 _'Girubāto!'_

Girubāto looked around to see who had called his name but none of the surrounding demons were looking his way. Deciding he must have misheard someone, he continued in his search for his Spanish friend.

 _'Girubāto!'_ a different voice said. _'If you can hear us, don't say anything! You're the only one who can hear us!'_ Girubāto recognised the voice as Rutovu~ihi's.

 _'Concentrate and think to us,"_ Rutovu~ihi advised. _'Großvater is here too. We need to tell you something!"_ Girubāto focused on Rutovu~ihi's voice.

 _'Can you hear me?"_ he asked.

 _'Just about!"_ Rutovu~ihi replied.

 _'Guten Abend, mein Enkel (Good evening, my grandson),'_ U~Orufugangu's voice sounded in his head.

 _'Großvater!'_ Girubāto exclaimed.

 _'It's good to hear your voice, Girubāto,'_ U~Orufugangu replied. _'I wish it was for a better reason now listen carefully. Iwan's found out about Arufureddo's involvement with Āsā and Mashū. He'll have Arufureddo declared traitor the moment he returns to Hell and he'll probably be gunning for you and your friends too. If you and your friends are in Hell right now, get out before Iwan returns! Get out now!"_

Verdammt! Girubāto knew this was not going to end well. He had to find Ansonī and Furanshisu quickly. If they were still in Hell when Iwan returned to break his little piece of news …...

 _'I'm looking for Ansonī and Furanshisu now,'_ he said. _'The moment I find them, we're out of here! Do you know where Arufureddo is right now?"_

 _'Āsā has him hidden in an abandoned church,'_ Rutovu~ihi replied after a moment. _'When you're away from Hell, think to us! We're using your necklace as a focus and one of us will be wearing it at all times!'_

 _'Will do!'_ Girubāto promised. _'I'm off to find my friends!"_ And he broke contact, urgently looking for his fellow Bāto- tatchi- karutetto friends.

* * *

"Now all we can do is wait," U~Orufugangu declared as Girubāto's thoughts left their heads. Both he and Rutovu~ihi were holding on to the iron cross necklace and U~Orufugangu let go, allowing Rutovu~ihi to put it around his neck. "Rutovu~ihi, I want you and Āsā to go to the church and wait with Arufureddo. When Girubāto has found his friends, he'll need to be guided there and protected until we can find a safer place for them all. I'll find Mashū and let him know what's happened."

"Ja," Rutovu~ihi agreed and turned to Āsā. "Let's go!" Both angels left while U~Orufugangu prayed to Higher Power for his demon grandson.

* * *

Arufureddo did not know how long he had been praying or even if it was doing any good but he continued anyway. He did not see the shadow in the old rotten and broken pews as he continued to ask for protection for the ones he loved.

"A demon praying at an altar for the protection of the souls of angels is not something you see every day," the shadow said, causing Arufureddo to spin round. The shadow moved into what little light there was and Arufureddo saw an old priest who seemed even older than his years. Arufureddo wondered how the old man could even see him when he was in his invisible demon form while he waited for words of condemnation to fall from the priest's lips for daring to defile this holy place. Instead the old priest smiled at him.

"How can you see that I'm here?" Arufureddo asked.

"At my age, I see many things," the priest replied. "What is your name, my son?"

"I'm called Arufureddo," Arufureddo replied. "Aren't you going to shoot fire and brimstone at me and tell to get out of this church?"

"I'm not the 'fire and brimstone' type," the priest replied. "And I'm somewhat curious as to why you're here, praying to something, some would say, had rejected you!"

"Nothing left to lose," Arufureddo shrugged. "I'm a traitor to Hell, I don't know if my friends are safe and my brother and …... someone else are two angels in danger from a very dangerous demon and I'm powerless to protect them. Heaven might not listen to me but if it does, it might do something to protect two of its own, at least."

"You pray for them," the priest replied. "What of you?"

"What of me?" Arufureddo said. "Heaven won't protect a demon so why bother?"

"Are you so sure?" the old man persisted. "You're the most unusual demon I've ever heard of. Why did you fall in the first place?"

"My brother," Arufureddo replied. "He was terminally ill and I was offered a chance to chance to cure him by selling my soul. Foolish, I know but the demon I sold my soul to kept his word on that score."

"I sense a 'but'."

"About the time my brother was supposed to die, he was kill in a car accident," Arufureddo said. "The demon carefully worded our contract so it said Mashū would be cured of his illness."

"But not that he wouldn't die," the priest nodded, understandingly. Arufureddo nodded.

"Mashū's an angel now," he said. "I was killed the day of his funeral and went to Hell. I didn't give in easily." He pointed to his hair. "I used to be blonde. Now I'm damned." The priest put his hands on Arufureddo's shoulders.

"A soul that would sacrifice everything for the love of a brother," he said. "And fight for the souls of angels could never be damned. Have faith, my son! The universe has a plan. Heaven has not abandoned you yet!" The old priest turned and walked toward the door.

"Who are you?" Arufureddo asked. The priest turned and smiled at him again before turning back to the door and left, leaving a perplexed demon behind him.

* * *

Girubāto flew over Hell, desperately trying to find his two friends before Iwan and his henchmen returned and condemned them. They had yet to come back but that happy state of affairs would not last so Girubāto had to find Ansonī and Furanshisu fast.

He finally spotted them across the punishment pits, stood apart from every other demon, talking. He landed and ran up to them.

"Ah, mon ami!" Furanshisu greeted. "We were wondering when you would get here. Is Arufureddo with you?" Girubāto grabbed both of their arms.

"No, he isn't," he replied, dragging them out of sight. "Something unawesome has happened. Iwan knows!" Both Ansonī and Furanshisu went as white as a sheet.

"Sacred Bleu," Furanshisu breathed. "Is Arufureddo all right? Iwan didn't get him, did he?" Girubāto shook his head.

"He and Āsā got away," he said. "But Iwan will be back soon and when he comes back, he'll condemn us all as traitors to Hell. We have to go before he returns! We don't even have time to gather our things. We have to leave now!" The three demons took to the air and headed for Hell's portal.

The portal to Hell was, quite simply, a massive curtain of red fire, blazing with the heat of a volcano and as they approached it, the flames began to turn yellow, an indication of a returning demon. Not knowing who was coming through the portal, Girubāto grabbed his two friends and pulled them into an alcove.

Good thing too. The yellow flames parted and Iwan, accompanied by Toriumu and Edo~uarudo and holding a still tied-up Raivis, burst through the portal, spreading dark aura everywhere.

"I'll kill that traitor and the rest of The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto," he promised. "And when I finally get Āsā, I'll make an example of him before I corrupt him, to show what happens when you go against HELL!" He flew past The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto's hiding place. He turned to his lackeys. "Spread the word about those traitors. I want every demon hunting for them!"

When they were out of sight, Girubāto, Ansonī and Furanshisu disappeared through the portal and made good their escape.

* * *

Arufureddo turned to the light that suddenly filled the church to see the cross glowing again and Āsā and Rutovu~ihi appeared in the church. Arufureddo was happy to see Āsā back and he was even glad to see the arch-angel.

"What's happening about my friends?" he asked.

"Rutovu~ihi has a way to talk to his brother," Āsā replied. "We've warned him and he's warning the rest of your friends. We're just waiting for him to contact Rutovu~ihi to let us know that they got away in time. Then we'll guide them here."

"And then what?"

"Großvater is looking for a safer place for all of you," Rutovu~ihi said. "This church is safe for now but it's not guaranteed that you won't be found here." Suddenly Rutovu~ihi froze and look as if he was listening to something he could hear.

"They made it out of Hell just in time," he told them. "But Iwan's in Hell so your transgression is known. They'll be hunting for you now."

"That was inevitable," Arufureddo replied. Rutovu~ihi continued to listen to his brother as he walked to the door."

"I'll guide them here," he said and left Āsā and Arufureddo alone. The same thoughts was running through both of their minds. They were hunted now. Āsā had the sanctuary of Heaven but The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto's situation was less secure. Āsā would take them all into Heaven, even the pervert, if it meant Arufureddo was safe but the demon quartet could not enter Heaven. How could they ever be together?

Arufureddo wrapped his arms around the British angel he had come to love, holding him close as if he would be torn from his arms at any moment. He had nothing to offer Āsā. He was a demon being hunted by his fellows, without a home now, not that Hell was much of a home to him to begin with. He had pulled Āsā, Mashū and his friends into this dangerous situation and if anything happened to any of them, Arufureddo did not think he would forgive himself.

"What will we do now?" Āsā hoped Arufureddo would know the answer for what he had no solutions for. Arufureddo hugged Āsā tighter.

"We'll figure something out," he promised and kissed the top of Āsā's head. "But, in the meantime, I want you to stay in Heaven. You'll be safe, Iwan can't touch you there."

"So I spend the rest of existence in hiding!" Āsā replied. "Not exactly how I envisioned spending my afterlife. I'm an guardian angel! What about my ward?"

"It's too dangerous now," Arufureddo pointed out. "For you and for him. It might even be dangerous now! Iwan won't hesitate to use Rōman against you and you against me now that he knows about us. Mashū will need to stay away too for his and Ferishiāno's safety. Heaven will need to assign new guardians to the Vargas Brothers."

"But..." Arufureddo put his finger on Āsā's lips.

"I know you want to protect them," he said. "But, right now, the best way to do that is to stay away from them." Āsā sighed and nodded.

"You're right," he agreed. "I'll tell Romyurasu and U~Orufugangu that the presence of Mashū and I is now a danger. They'll assign someone else." Arufureddo smiled, glad that Āsā was seeing sense.

"But I'm not staying away from you," Āsā promised. Arufureddo began to protest but Āsā cut him off before he could start. "We're in this together. We'll see it through together." Arufureddo smiled at his stubborn lover and kissed him, passionately.

"You never told me about this," Ansonī's voice cut through the couple's romantic moment. "No wonder Iwan's making Hell freeze." They looked round to see Ansonī staring at them, Rutovu~ihi looked just as surprised as Ansonī. He knew Āsā had gotten close to Arufureddo while the demon was meeting his brother but he never suspected this. Girubāto and Furanshisu, of course, were less surprised.

They were interrupted by the light of the cross glowing and Mashū appeared out of it. Girubāto's face lit up with a grin as he ran across the church and engulfed Mashū in a bear-hug, making Rutovu~ihi's eyebrows disappear into his hair. Which was slicked back.

"Awesome to see you again, Birdie," Girubāto said and pecked Mashū on the lips, making the shy angel blushed. Again!

"Mein Gott! It's spreading," Rutovu~ihi muttered. Girubāto smirked at his brother as he wrapped his arm around Mashū's shoulders.

"Why so surprised, bruder?" he asked. "He's cute, I'm awesome! And cute! We're a perfect couple!" Mashū went brick red.

"Oh maple!" he groaned.

"Mon Dieu!" Furanshisu exclaimed, looking at the dilapidated church. "This is where you expect us to stay!" Āsā crossed his arms and scowled at the French demon.

"Would you rather be where Iwan can find you, you Hell-bound Frog?" he snapped. "It will be while before Iwan would even consider that you might be hiding in a church. By then, hopefully, we'll have a better safe house."

"Until then, we just lie low," Arufureddo told the others.

* * *

For the next week, Iwan's lackeys and other demons from Hell searched for The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto or 'the traitors' as they had been imaginatively dubbed. Iwan had also given orders to find either Āsā or Mashū as well, to use them to draw out Arufureddo and his friends but neither hide nor hair was found of either the demonic quartet or the angelic duo. As predicted, the demons did not approach any churches.

Iwan's mood grew fouler with every failure. He wanted those traitors and The Uncorrupted in his hands now but his henchmen did not look like they were going to find them soon so Iwan decided to use another tactic and called Raivis to him.

The little demon stood, quivering in the presence of the Russian demon, waiting for him to address him. Iwan turned his gaze on the little Latvian, causing him to shake harder.

"Now Raivis!" Iwan smiled his disturbing smile. "I want you to tell me everything you know and saw of Arufureddo's dealings with those angels."

And in Iwan's threatening presence, Raivis related everything he knew while Iwan sorted through the information for something he could use.

* * *

Rōman was grumpier than usual and Ferishiāno was not his excessively happy self as they made their way to the restaurant. Neither Ansonī nor Rutovu~ihi had been near for days. Rutovu~ihi had been there in angel form but Ferishiāno did not know that. Other angels had been assigned to the Vargas Brothers and they followed them to the restaurant. Rutovu~ihi was waiting for them when they arrived.

"Any problems?" he asked Feliks.

"No," the green-eyed blonde replied. "The trip here was, like, totes peaceful. Well, except for, like, Rōman's potty mouth."

"Ferishiāno a little sweetheart though," a brown-haired female angel commented. Erizavu~eeta looked like a sweet young lady but she was a fierce fighter when necessary. A good choice for protecting the brothers.

Rōman unlocked the door and he and Ferishiāno went in, followed by the angels. Rutovu~ihi, Feliks and Erizavu~eeta sensed it right away.

"DEMONS!" Rutovu~ihi shouted as, suddenly, figures leaped from the shadows to overwhelmed both humans and angels.

Outside, people walking near the restaurant were suddenly thrust into a nightmare of flying glass and fire as the restaurant exploded.

 **Noooooooo! All Hell is breaking loose! Iwan's out for blood and WHAT HAPPENED IN THE RESTAURANT! DDDX Find out in the next chapter!**

 **To Scarlet Phantom** **– Yup! Iwan knows and he's not a happy demon. I really have to check out The Grey Garden. As for what will happen to them, that remains to be seen (which is code for 'I don't know yet!' ;P) Ah yes! 'Screw what they say, we're eloping' is all very well if 'they' are not hunting you down D: 6:10 AM! I'm still comatose then! (-_-)zzzzzzzz**

 **To themusicalcat** **– Yep! But the fun's over! This is where it gets serious! O.O**

 **To ArtemisIsis13** **– The Evil Cliffhanger Queen strikes again! (Muhahahaha!) I know! Sound so innocuous, don't they! If only Rōman and Ferishiāno knew! All the good-natured teasing was fun, I could just imagine Rōman making Ansonī help in the kitchen and the idea of Rutovu~ihi falling in love might be a source of endless amusement for Āsā and Mashū XD And everyone smiles around Ferishiāno :) Ah, Iwan! He'd have to be charming to get so many to sell their souls to him (except Āsā, of course!) Indeed, the calm before the storm! And a fire storm at that! And Rutiano and Girishu it is! And were you ready for this cliffhanger? ;P**

 **(P.S. I've been having that problem too, I only got access to my account yesterday!)**

 **I had planned for the next chapter to be the last but it might stretch over two, we'll have to see but a battle is looming and lives are in danger. Let's see if love triumphs over Evil!**

 **Till next week (fingers crossed!)**

 **Hasta la Pasta!**


	10. Vol X

**Okay! This is not the last chapter but it will be the penultimate one! I finally got a new laptop so I'll be playing with my new toy after this! :D**

 **Tino and Berwald's names don't change so that's why they're the same.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **I do not own Hetalia!**

 _ **Demonic Romeo Vol X**_

Blue lights flashed and sirens wailed as firemen directed their hoses at the burning building that, an hour earlier, had once been the _Cielo Italiano_ restaurant as the police set up barriers to keep back people who had come to see what was going on. Rumours flew! Was it a gas explosion? Was it a bomb? Who would want to harm the Vargas Brothers? Sure, Rōman could be a little unapproachable but there was no real harm in him and everybody loved Ferishiāno so what had happened?

* * *

 _An hour earlier..._

"DEMONS!"

Shadows dove on both humans and angels alike. The demons were in mortal form so the brothers could see them and took them for thieves. Rōman began to fight back but a human against demons was definitely an uneven fight, even with Feliks on side who was fighting as many of them as he could, and one of the shadows grabbed Ferishiāno and he tried to shake it off. Then suddenly it was ripped away by something unseen as Rutovu~ihi, seeing his crush in the grip of a demon, went to his rescue, pulling the demon off Ferishiāno who ran for the kitchen, followed by Erizavu~eeta who had already beaten down two demons and she was determined to protect her charge.

While his fellow demons were fighting the humans and two of the angels, Iwan approached Rutovu~ihi after he pulled Edo~uarudo off one of the humans and threw him to one side. The human ran for another room followed by the female angel and the arch-angel went to follow them but Iwan stepped into his path.

Rutovu~ihi summoned his weapon, a sword, and raised it toward the demon who was brandishing his pipe and blocking his way.

"Where are they?" Iwan asked as if he was asking the way to the train station. "Tell us where they are and we'll leave you and the humans alone, da?" Of course, Iwan was lying. Three angels and two souls was too good to pass up and Iwan had no intention. Fortunately, Rutovu~ihi suspected that and the fact that one of the demons that Iwan was after was his brother was also a consideration.

"I don't make deals with demons!" he replied, adamantly. "Especially you, Soul Thief! And you won't get the humans either." Iwan raised his pipe and smiled.

"Have it your way, arch-angel," he said and charged.

* * *

Feliks was not the most powerful angel but he was holding his own, defending Rōman when he was seized from behind. He struggled to throw the demon off and somehow managed to turn around and found himself staring into the eyes of his captor.

"Toriumu!"

"Felikumu!" Toris was so surprised to see his long lost love that his grip loosen and Feliks escaped his grasp. Feliks backed away from Toris with a disbelieving look.

"You were, like, one of Iwan's deals!" he exclaimed. Toris looked ashamed. Feliks wanted to question Toris more but other demons joined the battle and the couple were separated by the fight.

* * *

Three demons pursued Ferishiāno and Erizavu~eeta into the kitchen and Ferishiāno grabbed a knife and held it, shaking, in front of him but the demons just grinned as they approached. Then Ferishiāno was greeted with the sight of one of his frying pans seemingly rising into the air as Erizavu~eeta picked it up and began hitting the demons with it. Ferishiāno thought he had to deal with ghosts as well thieves and fainted.

One by one, the demons went down under Erizavu~eeta's expertise with the frying pan and she had just gotten the situation under control when Rutovu~ihi and Iwan crashed into the kitchen, causing Erizavu~eeta to fall on top of Ferishiāno as Rutovu~ihi blocked Iwan's pipe with his sword. More demons came into the kitchen, overwhelming Erizavu~eeta and grabbed the unconscious Ferishiāno as Rutovu~ihi and Iwan continued to battle.

"I suggest you stop," Iwan warned and pointed to Ferishiāno and Erizavu~eeta in the grip of Iwan's lackeys. One had a knife to the unconscious Ferishiāno's throat and another had his hand around Erizavu~eeta's neck threatening to break it. Rutovu~ihi looked round, trying to assess the situation, whether he could free the two of them without getting one of them killed. Although killing Ferishiāno would break the rules, he was worried that an over-zealous demon might do something stupid if he tried to save Erizavu~eeta first. At the very least, they might take Ferishiāno away while he was rescuing Erizavu~eeta. He could not see a way to pull it off.

Rutovu~ihi lowered his sword.

"Good choice!" Iwan commented and then knocked Rutovu~ihi unconscious with his pipe. Erizavu~eeta screamed as he went down. There was a noise as Edo~uarudo and the other demons dragged an unconscious Rōman and a struggling Feliks through the kitchen door.

"We have them, Iwan," Edo~uarudo reported. Iwan smiled.

"Khorosho! _(Good!)"_ Iwan replied. "This should draw out The Uncorrupted and Arufureddo and, maybe the rest of the traitors too. Take them to the warehouse and guard them!" Erizavu~eeta and Feliks were dragged out of the back door while other demons picked up Rutovu~ihi and he, along with Rōman and Ferishiāno, were carried out while Iwan looked around the kitchen.

"Let's leave the love-birds a little message, da?" he said to himself. He went over to the gas pipe and ripped it from the wall. He let the escaping gas build for a little while and then picked up the gas lighter and use it.

BOOM!

Iwan walked unscathed from the flames and destruction, took his demon form and took off to follow his henchmen.

* * *

When Rutovu~ihi and the temporary guardian angels failed to return to Heaven, U~Orufugangu and Romyurasu sent another two angels to check on them. And they returned with worrying news.

"Are you sure there was no one in the restaurant when it exploded?" Romyurasu asked, desperately. It terrified him that his grandsons might have been in the restaurant when it blew but, that said, if they were dead, Elizaveta and Feliks would have brought their souls to Heaven but they were missing too, along with Rutovu~ihi.

"The fire chief said there was no evidence of any bodies in the rubble," Tino replied. "He doesn't think anyone was inside although people nearby said they saw Rōman and Ferishiāno go in shortly before the explosion."

"He also said th' fire might 'ave been d'liberate," Berwald added. "There was evid'nce that a gas pip' 'ad been ripp'd from th' wall." U~Orufugangu nodded to Tino and Berwald and dismissed them. Romyurasu turned to U~Orufugangu.

"Iwan!"

"We'll have to assume so," U~Orufugangu agreed with his friend. "Which means he has all of them."

"He wants to draw out Āsā and then The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto," U~Orufugangu surmised. "Which means that he'll need somewhere to hold them. He can't take two living humans into Hell, it against the rules and Iwan knows better than to break them so they're still somewhere in the mortal world."

"Do we tell Āsā and the others?" Romyurasu asked. "They go after them and that's just what Iwan wants!" U~Orufugangu thought for a moment.

"We can't keep it from them," he replied. "If Iwan's taken Rutovu~ihi, Erizavu~eeta and Feliks into Hell, they're lost to us but, if Iwan still has them in the mortal world, we can all work together to get them back. All we need to know is where is they are! Iwan won't just face Āsā and The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto, he'll face the entire force of Heaven!"

* * *

Rutovu~ihi's head hurt as he slowly returned to consciousness and he opened his eyes. As his eyes focused, he realised he was bound with chains made of a demonic metal that kept him immobile. He looked round and spotted Erizavu~eeta and Feliks, also bound with chains, a little distance from him and it looked like they were in a empty warehouse. Then he saw demons patrolling the the upper floors and, he suspected, the roof.

Then he spotted Rōman and Ferishiāno in the nearest corner. They had been secured with rope and they were just staring at Rutovu~ihi, Feliks and Erizavu~eeta.

"They can see us, Rutovu~ihi," Erizavu~eeta warned him. Ferishiāno stared at Rutovu~ihi.

"Ve~ Rutovu~ihi!" Rutovu~ihi turned toward the stunned Italian who was staring at the wing-adorned German.

"Ja, Ferishiāno!" he sighed.

"You're an angel?"

"I'm an arch-angel," he admitted. "I was sent to watch over your bruder when he and your guardian angels came to the attention of demons." Rōman turned to look at Erizavu~eeta and Feliks.

"Is that them?" he asked.

"We're your temporary guardian angels," Erizavu~eeta told him. "Your original guardians themselves became endangered and their presence became an extra danger to you. It was decided for everyone's safety that they should be replaced for the time being. We didn't think they'd come after you."

"Ve~ Who were our original guardian angels?" Ferishiāno asked. He was curious about the beings who had been watching over them.

"Rōman was watched over by Āsā," Rutovu~ihi replied. "Your guardian angel was Mashū."

"Those guys from the restaurant!" Ferishiāno exclaimed. "I knew I knew that guy!" Rutovu~ihi smiled. Rōman huffed.

"Haven't done such a great job of protecting us so far, Potato Bastard!"

"You haven't made it easy," Rutovu~ihi snapped back. "Hanging around with a demon almost every chance you get!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Ansonī!"

"WHAT!" Rōman could not have heard Rutovu~ihi right.

"Ansonī's a demon!" Rutovu~ihi revealed. "In fact he was the reason I was assigned to you in the first place. He and his friends are wanted by the other demons now so they're no longer a threat but a bigger threat took their place."

"Nice you think so highly of me, arch-angel," Iwan's voice cut in as he walked into the warehouse followed by Edo~uarudo, Toriumu and Raivis. "Just hand over Āsā and The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto and the threat ends. You and the humans can walked away."

"Nice offer," Rutovu~ihi snarled back. "One problem, Soul Thief! I don't believe you! Find them yourself!" Iwan smiled and gave off his dark aura.

"Have it your own way," he replied and left. Edo~uarudo and Raivis followed him but Toriumu turned to Feliks.

"Feliks, I …... "

"Why are you, like, doing this?" Feliks demanded. "You know it's, totes, wrong!" Toriumu looked ashamed and looked away from his one-time lover.

"Don't be so hard on him, Feliks," Erizavu~eeta said. "We all know Iwan's reputation. I doubt he had much choice, after all, if Iwan tricked him out of his soul, I suppose that makes him Iwan's in some way." Toriumu nodded.

"It never stopped The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto from telling him to suck it," he admitted, honestly. "Truth is Iwan's stronger than I am and I'm too scared to stand up to him. I'm sorry, Feliks! I shouldn't have made the deal but I had to try to save you somehow."

"Wait!" Feliks replied. "Is that, like, why I recovered from my Leukaemia? Did you sell your soul to, like, totes, cure me?" Toriumu looked down, his face red.

"That's, like, the greatest thing you've ever done for me," Feliks continued. "Totes stupid but great!" Toriumu shrugged.

"For all the good that it did," he replied. Feliks shuffled closer to Toriumu.

"We'll find a way to change it, Toriumu!" Feliks promised. "We'll, like, change you back somehow!" Rutovu~ihi said nothing. He knew what his Großvater had told Āsā and knew that Feliks's hopes of saving his boyfriend were slim to none. But Feliks was adamant.

"I'll save you Toriumu!" he promised.

* * *

"I'm going after them!" Āsā declared, summoning his bow and went to leave the church. "It's my fault! I was their target!" Arufureddo grabbed Āsā while U~Orufugangu stood in his way. He had come to tell Āsā and Mashū what had happened and Āsā had reacted just how U~Orufugangu expected him to.

"That's just what Iwan wants you to do," he told him. "Besides, we don't know where they're being held. You can't go out there without a plan."

"He's right, Āsā," Mashū agreed. "We can't do anything if we don't know where they are but how can we find out?"

"If it's Iwan's plan to draw you out," U~Orufugangu replied. "He'll find a way to let you know where to go and when they do, we have angels ready to mobilise. You won't be fighting him alone. Iwan took three angels and two uncorrupted souls, giving us reason to move against him."

"This is unawesome, Großvater," Girubāto said. "I've only just got Rutovu~ihi back, I can't lose my keiner bruder again!" U~Orufugangu put a reassuring hand on Girubāto's shoulder.

"We'll get him back," he promised. "We'll get them all back. All we need to know is when, where and be able to mobilise at a moment's notice. I'll go and sort that now." U~Orufugangu stood before the cross and the light pulled him to Heaven.

"I suppose all we can do is wait now," Āsā replied, although staying put was not something he was happy about. "Until Iwan makes another move." He hated the idea of Rōman and Ferishiāno in Iwan's hands and he was not happy about Rutovu~ihi being held captive by the Russian demon either. He only hoped that they were strong enough to withstand what was ahead.

But Iwan was soon to make a move.

* * *

Edo~uarudo did not want to do this! He had orders to waylay a certain angel and 'leave a message' to let Āsā and Arufureddo know where to come if they wanted the humans and angels back. And the certain angel was Tino!

Iwan was fond of his cruel little games. Sending a message in this way also proved he could make his lackeys jump through hoops and do things, even to those closest to them. When they were alive Tino had been his best friend, like brothers who would do anything for each other. Then Iwan had crossed his path and told him that Tino would be caught up in a robbery and shot. Once convinced of Iwan's prediction, Edo~uarudo did not hesitate to make the deal and when the robbery happened, Tino survived the gun shot but then he was always going to. Edo~uarudo had damned his soul for nothing.

He was hanging around the wreck that used to be the restaurant, waiting to see if any angels turned up and if any of them were Tino. He really did not want to be here! If any angel did turn up, he prayed it was not Tino!

Unfortunately, his hopes went unfulfilled but he was relieved to see that Tino was not alone. His husband in life and in Heaven was with him. He could not approach Tino while Berwald was with him and he was praying that Berwald did not leave.

* * *

Berwald and Tino had been sent back to the restaurant to try and find some clue as to where their friends and the Vargas Brothers might be. They picked through the wreckage and burnt tables and chairs. The kitchen was a mangled, twisted mess with pots dented and and blasted across the room. The blast area was obvious, everything blown away from the gas pipe that had exploded and the worktops were blackened with soot. This had been the pride and livelihood of the Vargas Brothers and now it was a burnt-out ruin. It made Tino weep to think of it.

"Th're's noth'ng!" Berwald said as he moved a set of catering shelves that blocked his way. "Not a hint 'f wh're they might 'ave been tak'n ta!" Tino sighed.

"I haven't found anything either," he admitted. "Iwan wants Āsā and Arufureddo so he'll have some way of revealing where he wants them."

"Th't worries ma," Berwald replied. "How does 'e plan ta reveal it?" Tino shook his head.

"I don't know," he said. "But we need to find out if we want to get our friends back. This is going to be a battle, Berwald! We'll have to fight to get them back!" Berwald wrapped his arms around the Finnish angel and held him tight.

"I'll ke'p yer safe," he promised. Tino put his head on Berwald's shoulder and smiled.

"I can take care of myself, you know," he replied.

"I kn'w," Berwald said. "I like takin' care 'f yer." And he softly kissed Tino on the lips and Tino hugged him again.

"You always did when we were alive," Tino commented.

"You and Pītā!" Berwald replied. "It w's a 'appy life!"

"Yes, it was!" They held each other for a little while and finally separated.

"Let's g'!" Berwald said. "There's n'thing 'ere."

"I'll follow you," Tino replied. "I just want to take another look round, in case we missed something. I'll see you back in Heaven." Berwald kissed his cheek.

"Be car'ful!" he said and left the wrecked building. Edo~uarudo groaned as he watched Berwald leave, knowing that Tino was alone. He made his way into the restaurant and reluctantly made his way to the kitchen.

* * *

Tino sensed the demon presence just as he was grabbed from behind and he began to struggle. The demon must have been waiting for one of them to leave to get the drop on the other. He should have gone with Berwald. Suddenly the demon shoved him into one of the ruined worktops and he gasped as the edge crashed into his chest and drove the breath out of him. He grabbed at the top and just succeed in pulling damaged pans down on him as he fell to the floor.

He looked up at the demon who had attacked him and his jaw dropped in shock.

"Edo~uarudo!" Edo~uarudo looked back at him, his horns sticking out from his hair and his wings spread out round him. And the regretful look on his face.

"I'm sorry, Tino," he said. "I have no choice!" Before Tino could get up to defend himself, Edo~uarudo knelt over him, grabbed the front of his robes and drew his fist back. Tino braced himself for the blow but Edo~uarudo's fist did not move. Instead it shook and finally fell to his side.

"I can't do it!" he declared, getting up and walking away from Tino. "I was ordered to give you a beating and send you back to Heaven with a message but I can't do that to someone I love like a brother. I'm sorry, Tino!" Tino was relieved that Edo~uarudo had not completely gone over to the dark side.

"I thought you might fail," came Iwan's voice as the Russian demon came into the kitchen and came up to Edo~uarudo. "I'll deal with you later." And with that he lashed out, back-handing Edo~uarudo across the room and sending him into a wall. He then produced his pipe and loomed over Tino.

"Now!" he said. "I want you to take a little message to Āsā and Arufureddo!"

* * *

Ferishiāno looked over at Rutovu~ihi, still finding it hard to believe that the man he was growing to love was an arch-angel. Funny how he had compared Rutovu~ihi to a warrior angel when he first saw him, only to find out that's exactly what he was. He stared at Rutovu~ihi's beautiful white wings and his hands itched to touch the plumage to see if it was as soft as it looked. He began to shift himself over a little at a time in Rutovu~ihi's direction.

"Where are you going, idiota?" Rōman hissed. Ferishiāno just kept shifting until, finally, he made it over to Rutovu~ihi. Rutovu~ihi looked at the Italian who just looked back at him.

"I'm sorry," Rutovu~ihi said. "I couldn't tell you the truth about me and why I was here. I'm sorry I lied to you!"

"Ve~ I don't remember you lying to me," Ferishiāno replied as he sat with hands still tied behind his back but he was still able to rub his fingers against the wings. The feathers were as soft as they looked. "You didn't tell me you were an angel but you didn't tell me you weren't either. And you do provide protection services." Ferishiāno rested his head on Rutovu~ihi shoulder. "Ve~ I'm in love with an angel!" Rutovu~ihi tilted his head to rest on top of Ferishiāno's.

"Ferishiāno, I …..," Rutovu~ihi was interrupted by Iwan suddenly stomping into the warehouse, dragging Edo~uarudo with him. Edo~uarudo was the worse for wear, sporting a black eye, a bloody nose and he seemed to be protecting his ribs on his right side. He cried out as Iwan threw him to the floor as Toriumu and Raivis went to his aid.

"What happened?" Toriumu asked as he tried to tend to his fellow demon.

"What always happens when my orders are not followed!" Iwan declared. "You should have done what I told you. Your old friend might have suffered less." Rutovu~ihi had a bad feeling about that.

"What old friend?" he asked. Edo~uarudo looked up at him with pain-filled eyes.

"Tino!" Rutovu~ihi closed eyes and groaned. Berwald would be ready to kill when he found out. There was no one more important to him than Tino.

"No matter!" Iwan declared. "The message will be delivered and I'll get Āsā and the Bāto- tatchi- karutetto. I will win!"

"Don't count on it!" Rutovu~ihi said as Ferishiāno took his head from his shoulder. "You won't get them! They have Heaven's help!" Iwan gave his disturbing smile.

"And we have you!" he pointed out. "And I have Hell's help. Toriumu!" Toris skittered up to Iwan and stood shaking,waiting to hear what Iwan wanted.

"Return to Hell!" he ordered. "Tell the other demons to come here and tell them to prepare for a battle!" Toriumu did not dare argue and scampered off to do his errand. Iwan turned back to Rutovu~ihi and smiled.

"Soon we'll see which side is best," he said and approached Rutovu~ihi. "Now what shall we do in the meantime?" Erizavu~eeta and Feliks looked on horrified as Iwan threw Ferishiāno to one side and loomed over Rutovu~ihi.

* * *

Tino dragged himself to the nearest church, limping badly with blood trickling down the side of his face and holding his ribs. His jaw was badly bruised, showing a possible fracture and each step pulled a grunt of pain from the Finnish angel. He limped down the aisle, passing the worshippers and the priest who could not see him. Stood before the cross, Tino painfully held out his arms and the light shone and took Tino to Heaven with the people in the church none the wiser except for a sudden, spiritual feeling.

* * *

Berwald had become worried when Tino did not return after a long time and was heading for the Gates of Heaven to go and find his 'wife'. The Gates of Heaven were nick-named the Pearly Gates, not because they were actually made of pearls but because they had a pearly sheen to them. The gates themselves were simply, elegant and very high. As Berwald approached them, they opened, indicating that either a pure soul was being admitted to Heaven or an angel was returning. As he came closer there was a flash of light and Tino appeared. For a moment Berwald was relieved but then he noticed that Tino was holding himself awkwardly. His heart went into his mouth when Tino collapsed and he ran to his side.

Berwald gathered Tino up into his arms and, after seeing his injuries, carried him bride-style into Heaven and to the healer angel. Yao Wang had been an apothecary and healer when he was alive and he had been in Heaven longer than most, tending to injuries incurred in battles with demons. When Berwald rushed in with Tino, the pony-tailed Chinese angel immediately directed him to put Tino on a cushioned examination table so he could look at him.

Tino's breathing was laboured and he whimpered as Berwald set him down as gently as he could. He never should have left Tino alone, this was his fault! Berwald felt as if he could never forgive himself.

Yao could see that Tino's jaw was broken and he suspected that a few ribs were broken, possibly his ankle too. As he examined Tino's head, he discovered the injury that concern him most. There was a very bad gash just under Tino's hairline. He turned to his pots on a nearby table and picked up a mortal and pestle. Opening three of the pots, he took pinches of what was in them and began to grind the concoction up. When he was finished, he tipped the powder into a vial and added a green liquid, shaking it to mixed it all up. Then he took it back to Tino and applied a few drops to the head injury.

The liquid fizzed in the wound in a way that looked painful but got no reaction from Tino as the would began to heal before their eyes and Tino's eyes fluttered opened. He took a deep breath and winced with the pain.

"Yer s'fe now," Berwald told him as he held Tino's hand. "I'm s'rry! I sh'uldn't 'ave left yer." Tino squeezed his hand.

"You couldn't have know this would happen," he replied, painfully as Yao tended to his ribs and his jaw was hurting him. "Berwald, I need you to get Romyurasu or U~Orufugangu. It's important!" Berwald was torn between doing what Tino asked and stay with him but, with a look for Tino, Berwald left Yao to tend to Tino's injuries while he went to get the two angels.

He managed to find them quickly and they hurried back to Yao's to find Tino bandaged up and sipping a herbal tea that Yao had made to aid his healing. He went to sit up when Romyurasu and U~Orufugangu came in with Berwald but he winced in pain and Yao made him lie back down.

"What happened to you, Tino?" U~Orufugangu said, gently.

"I was attacked in the restaurant," Tino revealed. "An old friend was there, Edo~uarudo. He's a demon now!"

"An old fri'nd att'cked yer!" Berwald exclaimed. Tino shook his head.

"Edo~uarudo was ordered to but he couldn't do it," he replied. "It was Iwan. He followed to make sure Edo~uarudo did what was ordered. Iwan will punish Edo~uarudo for his disobedience and he did it instead. He had a message!" Romyurasu and U~Orufugangu looked at each other.

"He said if we wanted Rutovu~ihi and the others back," Tino continued. "We have to take Āsā and The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto to a warehouse in the East Dock and trade them. If we don't take them there tomorrow at noon, they'll kill Rutovu~ihi and the others and corrupt the Vargas brothers."

"Which warehouse?" U~Orufugangu was already thinking of a plan.

* * *

 _Noon, next day!_

Āsā and The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto stood outside the warehouse while Iwan stood within the doors, his henchmen holding the angels and the Vargas brothers. Romyurasu, U~Orufugangu, Mashū and Berwald stood with Āsā and the others as the face off went down.

"Just send Āsā and the traitors," Iwan ordered. "And I'll send your friends and the mortals. No sudden moves or the angels die and the mortals suffer!" Romyurasu nodded to Iwan and then nodded to Āsā, Arufureddo, Girubāto, Ansonī and Furanshisu and they began to move forward. Iwan nodded to his lackeys and they released their captives. Ferishiāno immediately moved to help Rutovu~ihi who moved painfully and sported bruises. U~Orufugangu's lips tightened at the sight of his grandson's injuries.

The two groups moved closer to each other as the tension mounted. Iwan was still smiling that creepy smile and Romyurasu and U~Orufugangu were poker-faced. Berwald wanted nothing more than to get the demon who had harm his Tino. The three Baltic demons were trembling, the marks of Iwan's punishment still visible on Edo~uarudo.

The two groups took a few more steps and met in the middle. Āsā gave Rutovu~ihi a look as if to say 'be ready'. A trap was suspected.

And a trap was sprung!

"NOW!" Iwan yelled and demons steamed from everywhere and headed for the angels and the traitor demons. The angel side looked to be overwhelmed.

Only looked! Suddenly, angels began raining from the skies and the battle was joined.

 **Phew! This was longer than normal! The ultimate battle between Heaven and Hell is about to beginning and you all have a ringside seat. Poor Tino drew the short straw as messenger and you can bet Berwald will want revenge for that and bad things are going to happen! D:**

 **To themusicalcat – No problem! You can't be glued to the internet 24/7! Iwan's gone to extremes to try and get his hands on Āsā, Arufureddo and the others but he hasn't killed any innocent people. Yet! ): As you can see, he had everything to do with the restaurant exploding and he hasn't finished yet!**

 **To ArtemisIsis13** **– Well, if it's any consolation I wasn't either! The exploding restaurant was a last minute idea to the story! Up until that point I wasn't sure where I was going with the story but I'm back on track now :) It would have been bad if Iwan caught them (thank goodness he didn't) And Iwan doesn't tolerate failure well as Eduard just found out D: so I'd worry for Raivis too. I bet Girubāto never thought that giving his bruder a memento would be so life saving and, as bad as things are for them, at least they're alive (well, as alive as they can be, being deceased and demons) Ah! The priest! I'll let you guess who he is ;) and it's not just in his church so angels have many ways to get to and from Heaven. Ha ha! Gives you some idea of how surprised Rutovu~ihi was! :D I thought throwing Toris and Feliks up against each other would be an interesting twist and, as Hungary is a friend of Poland's, Elizaveta would be a good partner. Her and the frying pan :P Iwan's definitely raising Hell, literally. This is going to be a smack-down! DDX**

 **And that's that for another week! I can't really say much about the next chapter because I'm still putting it together but *Spoiler Alert* not everyone will get out alive. Fingers crossed, it will be done for next week!**

 **So till then (hopefully!),**

 **Hasta la Pasta!**


	11. Vol XI

**I know I said this would be the last chapter but it hasn't turned out that way! It was just too long and it's not even finished yet so I've split it into two but next week will definitely be the last chapter and it will be the first chapter to be posted on my new laptop so without further ado, the penultimate chapter...**

 **Additional names**

 **Rūkasu – Lukas – Norway**

 **Matiasu – Matthias – Denmark**

 **Emiru – Emil - Iceland**

 **Sadikku - Sadik - Turkey**

 **I do not own Hetalia!**

 _ **Demonic Romeo : Vol XI**_

 _The day before..._

"Those are Iwan's demands," U~Orufugangu stood in the derelict church, explaining what had happened. "You, Āsā, and The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto are to show up at Warehouse 13 on the East Dock where Iwan will exchange Rutovu~ihi, Erizavu~eeta, Feliks and the Vargas brothers for you." Arufureddo, Girubāto, Ansonī and Furanshisu looked at each other.

"You know Iwan won't let any of us leave, don't you," Girubāto said. "Not even your grandson. That unawesome S.O.B will grab what he can, when he can. You can bet he'll have demons hiding and waiting!"

"We're aware of that," Romyurasu replied. "We've no intention of giving anyone up to him. We'll have our own hidden army. If Iwan wants a fight, we'll give him one. Tino has a lot of friends just waiting for a chance to get the demon who hurt him."

"How is Tino?" Āsā asked.

"He'll b' sore fer a wh'le," Berwald replied. He had accompanied the two angels to the church, wanting to be part of the ambush against Iwan for what he had done to Tino. "But he'll rec'ver!" Āsā breathed a sigh of relief. He liked Tino and Berwald for what they did for Pītā and hated the idea of the kind-hearted angel being hurt but he was angry that Tino had suffered at Iwan's hands in the first place.

"If he does that just to send a message," Girubāto said. "I'm afraid of what he's doing to mein bruder. I know what Iwan's like! He's a totally unawesome sadist." Mashū put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"We'll get your brother back!" he promised. Girubāto put his hand over Mashū's.

"Ja," he replied. "And we'll do without sacrificing yours!"

"Arch-angels Rūkasu and Matiasu will be waiting," U~Orufugangu said. "In life, Rūkasu came from Norway and Matiasu hailed from Denmark. They're friends of Tino and Berwald and eager to avenge a fellow Nordic. Some of Yao's younger brothers and sisters will be joining the battle too, as well as Rūkasu's younger brother Emīru but he'll be with Yao and the other healers at Rūkasu's insistence. Emīru's not happy about that but he's not a warrior! Do you know who Iwan might get on side." U~Orufugangu addressed The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto.

"Toriumu, Edo~uarudo and Raivis," Arufureddo replied. "Any of the demons who were tricked of the their souls by Iwan, excluding us of course. Sadikku might join in for the hell of it, he's always up for a fight. Not sure about Vladimir, he's more for punishing the tainted than corrupting innocent souls or battling angels. Iwan could call on quite a few demons."

"But!" Furanshisu added. "Most are demons who were victims of Iwan's trickery so they'll back him up out of fear but their hearts won't be in it and that's Iwan's weakness. Your angels believe in what they're fighting for and they'll give it everything they have. You just need to get the upper-hand!"

"Any suggestions on how we get the advantage?" Romyurasu asked.

"Don't reveal your hand too soon!"

* * *

 _Warehouse 13. East Dock ….._

White feathers and leathery membrane mixed as angels and demons clashed. Swords clanged as they struck each other and arrows flew. Āsā and The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto grabbed Rutovu~ihi and the others and tried to fly them to safety but a group of demons blocked their way.

"And where are you little birds going to?" a tall, dark-haired demon with huge wings and a white half-mask, welding a enormous curved sword. Demons fanned out around him, blocking their escape. "Iwan would like a word!" Āsā flapped his wings harder to keep himself afloat while carrying Rōman, Mashū doing the same, holding Ferishiāno. Arufureddo and Girubāto were helping Rutovu~ihi and Ansonī and Furanshisu were escorting Erizavu~eeta and Feliks. Arufureddo and Girubāto passed Rutovu~ihi to Erizavu~eeta and Feliks, joining Ansonī and Furanshisu, bracing themselves for battle.

"Out of the way, Sadikku!" Arufureddo warned, producing his pistol while Girubāto took out his sword, Ansonī got out his axe and Furanshisu unsheathed his rapier. they were prepared to fight to allow Āsā and his brother to take Rōman and Ferishiāno to safety. And hopefully stay there!

"Or what, traitor?" Sadikku sneered and turned to his entourage. "Get them!" The other demons crowded in and two fell as they were shot down by Arufureddo. Ansonī swung his axe, scattering demons and ripping through the wing membrane of one and he screamed in pain and dropped. Furanshisu engaged another demon with a sword in a duel as Arufureddo fired again while Sadikku kept back, waiting for his moment while Girubāto engaged another demon in a sword fight.

Āsā and Mashū flew to a patch of trees on the ground with their burdens, Ferishiāno shaking with fear and Rōman swearing a blue streak as they raced to the ground with Erizavu~eeta and Feliks following with Rutovu~ihi. They landed and took their charges out of sight of the combat in the sky above them.

"Stay here," Āsā ordered as Erizavu~eeta and Feliks landed and laid Rutovu~ihi down. "And please look after Rutovu~ihi." Rutovu~ihi tried to struggle to his feet but was being held down by Erizavu~eeta.

"I should fight with you," he insisted, trying to shrug Erizavu~eeta off.

"You're in no condition," Āsā replied. "You can barely stand. Besides, we need someone to protect Rōman and Ferishiāno, should any demons get pass us." Rutovu~ihi stopped struggling, sighed and nodded.

"Hey, Eyebrows," Rōman said, testily. "We can protect ourselves, you know!"

"Against demons?" Āsā replied and Rōman fell silent. "Stay here out of sight!" Āsā turned produced his bow and left to returned the fight. As he flew toward the fight and Arufureddo, Āsā heard the flapping of wings behind him and looked back to see Mashū following him with his own bow in his hands.

"Go back, Mashū!" Āsā ordered. "You're not ready for a battle on this scale."

"We all need to fight, Āsā," Mashū replied. "I'm sure Arufureddo wants you to stay out of it too."

"Like that was ever going to happen!"

* * *

In the chaos of the clash of demons and angels, Iwan lost sight of Āsā and Arufureddo for a moment and then he spotted their group flying into the sky, Āsā carrying Rōman, Mashū carrying Ferishiāno and Arufureddo and Girubāto carrying Rutovu~ihi, followed by Erizavu~eeta and Feliks. Iwan smiled and took to the air after them, only for something to hit him from behind and bring back down to the ground.

He hit the ground hard and then he heard something land nearby. He turned to see an angel standing over him. He had seen big angels, fought them but this was the first angel he had seen who was as big as him, had not know such an angel existed but there he was. Blonde with an impressive wing span, carrying a massive broadsword. Stern blue-eyes glared out from behind square, half-rimmed glasses. Although he showed very little emotion, Iwan got the feeling that this angel was completely and utterly pissed off and he scrambled to his feet.

"Privet," he said, casually. "Who do I have the pleasure of meeting?" The angel gave him a dead glare.

"I'm Berwald!" he declared. "T'no's husband!Ah! Now Iwan understood!

"And how is little Tino?" he asked in a tone that was almost not a mockery. Almost! Berwald swung his broadsword to bring it down on Iwan's head. Iwan brought up his pipe up to block the sword but it still connected hard enough for the vibration to rattle Iwan's arm. Berwald swung again, this time from the left and Iwan barely got his pipe round in time, the sword bouncing off it with a clang.

This angel was going to be a challenge. The closest challenge Iwan had ever had was when he dragged Arufureddo into Hell. The American had put up quite a fight before succumbing.

Berwald swung at Iwan's head and Iwan ducked and took a swing at Berwald's knee, revelling in the impact. Berwald's leg collapsed from under him and he brought his sword up to block the pipe that was coming toward his head.

"I enjoyed the way little Tino screamed," Iwan said, smiling. "I hope to hear it again some day. Maybe for longer next time!" Berwald pushed Iwan away and struggled back to his feet.

"I'll kill ya f'rst!" He declared and lunged his sword forward. Iwan dodged but not fast enough to avoid the sword taking a slice out of his side. Iwan managed to avoid crying out in pain but that had hurt. This angel could defeat him if he did not bring him down first. Berwald swung his sword again but Iwan batted it away with his pipe then reverse the swing and struck Berwald in the side of his head.

Stunned, Berwald went down on his stomach. He tried to get back up but a foot between his wings forced him back to the ground. Iwan put his foot on Berwald and held him down, brandishing his pipe and smiling down at the helpless angel.

"Poor Tino," he said. "I guess his husband won't be coming home." And he raised his pipe to bring it down on Berwald's head.

Suddenly he was blasted off his feet and hurled eight feet away. He shook his head and looked up, seeing two angels hovering above him. Both were blonde, one spiky haired and the other with one side held back with a cross barrette and a curl sticking out to the left. The spiky haired one was carrying an axe that was as big as the one Ansonī welded, if not bigger. The other angel had his hands close together and in the centre was a glowing ball of light.

Rūkasu and Matiasu! He had heard of these two arch-angels, they worked as a team. The Norwegian and the Dane were formidable together, more than even Iwan could handle so he decided to cut his losses, even as the next ball of light flew at him.

He took to the air, avoiding the light ball which exploded where he had been standing. Rūkasu landed to help Berwald while Matiasu pursued Iwan, swing his axe at him that Iwan barely avoided, still smarting from Berwald's blow. He disappeared in a crowd of angels and demons fighting and Matiasu returned to assist Rūkasu and Berwald.

* * *

Arufureddo fired off a few rounds, hitting one demon and wounding another while Girubāto, Furanshisu and Ansonī tackled some of the others but the odds were against them as Sadikku faced off against Arufureddo, brandishing his sword.

"How long do you think you can keep this up, Arufureddo?" Sadikku asked. "You know, I did hope The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto would knock Iwan off his pedestal. I'm no more enamoured of Iwan that you are but then you had to turn traitor so now we're on opposite sides. Pity!"

"Yes, well it's funny how things work out," Arufureddo replied with his gun trained on Sadikku. "Sorry to disappoint you!"

"Ah well!" Sadikku sighed. "Have it your own way!" And he came at Arufureddo, dodging the bullets Arufureddo fired in his direction. Arufureddo avoided the sweep of Sadikku's sword as it almost grazed his stomach. Sadikku regretted having to fight Arufureddo, he really thought the young demon had what it took to take Iwan's place as top demon but, alas, that would never happen now!

Arufureddo felt himself being grabbed by demons who had come, unseen, from behind him and held him immobile as Sadikku moved in for the kill.

"Sorry about this, Arufureddo," he said as he went to run his sword through Arufureddo.

An arrow flew past and struck the demon on Arufureddo's right, distracting Sadikku from killing Arufureddo while Arufureddo pistol-whipped the demon on his left. Sadikku ducked as another arrow sped his way.

Arufureddo looked to see Āsā and Mashū shooting arrows at the demons fighting The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto, making their enemies scatter. They continued to fire, giving The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto the chance to get the upper-hand. Sadikku and what was left of his group decided to cut their losses and run.

"Why didn't you stay where you were safe?" Arufureddo demanded, not wanting his lover in any danger.

"That goes for you too, Birdie," Girubāto agreed.

"This is our fight too," Āsā replied, adamantly. "The others are in a place that's under cover and they have Erizavu~eeta and Feliks watching over them and Rutovu~ihi should recover soon. We're needed here!" Arufureddo flew over to Āsā.

"Stay close!" he warned. Girubāto moved closer to Mashū and assumed a protective posture. "Take us to the others, we'll get them to safety and then we end this, one way or another!" Āsā lead the way, not knowing that they were being watched and followed.

* * *

Romyurasu and U~Orufugangu fought side by side against the demons that were coming at them from all directions and they were they were growing less and less as other angels distracted the demons until there were only one or two for the two angels to deal with and they made short work of them.

"We should find our grandsons," Romyurasu said as U~Orufugangu sent the last demon crashing to the ground. U~Orufugangu looked up and saw Āsā and Arufureddo flying past, followed by Mashū, Girubāto, Furanshisu and Ansonī. He grabbed hold of Romyurasu and took off after them.

They caught up with them and joined the formation as they flew away from the main fighting.

"Where are the others?" Romyurasu asked as they came in close.

"We're going to them now," Āsā replied. "We took them to a wooded area out of sight of Iwan and his crew. We can take Rōman and Ferishiāno home and put Rutovu~ihi in their care while we return and help deal with Iwan."

"Good thinking!" U~Orufugangu said and they continued on their way, unaware that Iwan and his lackeys were following.

* * *

Ferishiāno was doing his best to tend to Rutovu~ihi's bruises and cuts but without a first-aid kit, he was limited to what he could do but Rutovu~ihi seemed to have healed some since their liberation. Erizavu~eeta and Feliks were were keeping watch while Rōman paced back and forth between trees.

"This sucks," he fumed. "We can't find out who's winning, the demon bastards or the angel bastards!" Ferishiāno wondered if referring to angels as bastards might land Rōman in trouble with the Heavenly Powers but none of the angels around him seemed to care.

"I'm sure everyone's fine," Ferishiāno replied. "Ansonī will be back in no time, you'll see."

"Who cares about that demonic jerk bastard?" Rōman snapped. "If he'd stayed out of our lives, we wouldn't be here now!" Ferishiāno was not fooled. Rōman was worried about Ansonī and would be until he was sure the demon was alive and unhurt.

"They're here!" Erizavu~eeta called out as she and Feliks watched the group of angels and demons flying over the trees and they circled around to land. As they touched down, Romyurasu ran to greet his grandsons.

"Nonno!" Ferishiāno gasped as his grandfather walked toward them, his large wings folded around him. Standing up from beside Rutovu~ihi, Ferishiāno ran into his grandfather's waiting arms. Rōman stood back, not knowing what to do as Romyurasu held Ferishiāno with one arm and opened the other for Rōman. For a moment, Rōman did not move but then his lip quivered and he ran into his grandfather's embrace.

"I missed you, you old bastard!" he wept. Romyurasu held both his grandsons tight.

"I missed you too," he replied. "Both of you. I didn't want to leave you!"

"You're back now, Nonno!" Ferishiāno replied and both of them hugged their grandfather back.

U~Orufugangu and Girubāto made their way over to Rutovu~ihi who struggled to his feet, Girubāto helping him up, with the others standing out of the way of the family reunions.

"How are you, Rutovu~ihi?" his grandfather asked, looking over the bruises that Iwan had inflicted on him. They seemed to be fading already but Rutovu~ihi was clearly still in some discomfort.

"I'll heal, Großvater," Rutovu~ihi reassured his grandfather while Girubāto gave a grin and patted his bruder on the back.

"Rutovu~ihi comes from an awesome blood-line," he declared. "It'll take more than Iwan to put him down."

"Why don't we test that theory, da?" came Iwan's voice behind them. Everyone spun round to see the Russian demon standing there, surrounded by Edo~uarudo, Toriumu, Raivis and several other demons. "You angels have put put a good fight but it makes me smile to think I'll soon crush all of you." Āsā and Mashū summoned their bows, Arufureddo took out his pistol, Ansonī welded his axe and Girubāto and Furanshisu produced their swords. Romyurasu and U~Orufugangu also took out swords along with Erizavu~eeta and Feliks began chanting something.

Iwan first target was Arufureddo but that was not who he went for first. While his henchmen kept the others busy, Iwan turned on Āsā who aimed his bow at Iwan.

"Ah, Āsā!" Iwan sighed. "I would have giving you a good existence in Hell, after I had you changed into a demon, but you had to choose that turncoat." Iwan nodded at Arufureddo who had his pistol aimed at Iwan's head. "You know he'll be dead soon so I guess you lose all round, da? But look on the bright side, you won't have too long to mourn him before you join him!"

"You haven't killed anyone yet," Arufureddo snarled, keeping Iwan covered with his pistol. "And you're not going to!" And Arufureddo fired but, somehow, Iwan evaded the bullet and shot toward Arufureddo and swung his pipe into Arufureddo's stomach, driving the air out of him and driving him to the ground. Iwan gave a smile, disturbing in its softness, as he lifted his pipe and brought it down towards Arufureddo's head.

But it never connected. Instead, the pipe was halted by Āsā's bow as Āsā held Iwan off while Iwan pushed back with his pipe but, being an angel, Āsā was deceptively strong and gave as good as he got.

"You could still join me, Āsā," Iwan told him. "The kind of demon you'd make, the two of us could rule Hell!" Āsā gave him another shove.

"I don't want to rule Hell," he snapped. "And I'll never be a demon."

"Too bad," Iwan replied as he pushed back again. "I can only let you live as my ally."

"You have to kill me first!" Āsā managed to shove Iwan back and fired an arrow that Iwan barely dodged. By this time, Arufureddo was back on his feet and Iwan had to dodge bullets as well.

"Two against one," he commented. "Not a fair fight!"

"Reminder me again, Iwan," Arufureddo replied. "How many were with you when you dragged me into Hell!" Iwan cocked his head, smiling.

"Fair point!" he conceded and flew at them again, brandishing his pipe, somehow avoiding both arrows and bullets. Iwan missed Arufureddo but managed a glancing blow to the side of Āsā's head. The British angel went down and Arufureddo moved to protect him.

"You really do love him, don't you," Iwan mocked. "A demon and an angel! The ultimate Romeo and Juliet! Of course, you know how that story turned out! Ready to die again!" Āsā was beginning to stir from the unconsciousness the blow to his head had sent him into as Iwan and Arufureddo continued to fight. They clashed time and again, neither gaining the upper hand until Iwan changed his tactics. Instead of attacking Arufureddo as a whole, he concentrated on one part. The hand holding his pistol.

The blow broke bones and pulled a cry of pain from the American demon as the gun flew from his hand. Iwan raced and picked up the gun, aiming it at the still groggy Āsā.

"I'll kill you soon enough," Iwan said to Arufureddo like he was saying 'I'll see you tomorrow'. "But perhaps a little more emotional punishment for you." Āsā could see the pistol aimed at him but he was still too dazed to get up as Iwan squeezed the trigger.

* * *

Yao was working non-stop as injured angels came in a steady stream and, as fast as he would get one angel back on their feet and back into the fight, two would take their place. Rūkasu's younger brother, Emiru, a young man with ash-blonde air and violet eyes, kept bringing more supplies so Yao could work with running out of medicals.

"How long is this going to go on for?" Emiru asked as another wounded angel was brought in.

"As long as it does," Yao replied, vaguely. "Battles between Heaven and Hell to this extent are rare but when they happen they can last a long time. We may have a while to go yet. He's the one I worry about!" Yao pointed toward Tino who was moving among the angels too injured to return to battle, seeing to their comfort. It was decided that Tino should stay with the Infirmary Unit after his assault by Iwan, although he would rather be out fighting alongside Berwald.

"He's stuck here, worried about his husband," Yao added. "Helping the wounded occupies his mind but he still worries."

"I know how he feels," Emīru admitted. "My older brother's out there and I'm scared he'll be the next one to be carried in. Although I'd rather you didn't tell him I said that though." Yao chuckled. Emīru loved his big brother but did not like to show it. It was sometimes fun to watch the brothers as Emīru refused to call Rūkasu Big Brother like the elder wanted him to.

"Your secret's safe with me," he laughed, happy to find something to laugh at in his hour of darkness.

"BERWALD!" Tino's tortured cry had both of them spinning round to see Rūkasu and Matiasu carrying Berwald between them. Emīru was relieved to see that Rūkasu was unharmed but his heart went out to Tino as he knelt beside Berwald when he was place on an empty cot.

"What are his injuries?" Yao demanded as he rushed in with medical supplies.

"Injured knee and head trauma," Rūkasu said without wasting time. "We got to him before Iwan could inflict any more damage." Matiasu gripped his axe.

"Let's go inflict some of our own!" he declared and rushed out while Yao tended to Berwald. Rūkasu sighed and, after sharing a meaningful look at his younger brother, joined the hot-headed Danish angel. Yao was reassuring Tino as he worked on Berwald's head injury.

"He'll be just fine, Tino," he promised "He'll wake up with a headache but then he'll be as good as new."

"And I'll never let him out of my sight again!"

* * *

Erizavu~eeta fought fiercely, swinging her sword and downing one demon after another but the odds were against them as Feliks continued to chant. Erizavu~eeta fought to keep demons away from her partner as he did what ever he was doing.

A rumble began to run through the ground and Feliks stopped chanting.

"Get off the ground!" he called and he and Erizavu~eeta took to the trees. Just as a stampede of ponies ran into the trees and crashed into the demons. It was quite possibly the weirdest thing Erizavu~eeta had ever seen but it cleared the demons out.

"Unorthodox but effective," she commented. Feliks shrugged.

"I, like, totally like ponies!"

* * *

Romyurasu and U~Orufugangu took up a protect stance around Rōman, Ferishiāno and Rutovu~ihi although the latter insisted that he could fight as they became surrounded by the Baltic Trio demons who, frankly looked like they would rather be anywhere else but there at that moment but they feared Iwan too much to disobey even though they were facing off against two powerful angels. They were just glad that they were not facing The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto as well. Arufureddo was being kept busy by Iwan, Girubāto fighting alongside Mashū, holding off some of the lesser demons as were Furanshisu and Ansonī, although Ansonī would rather be at Rōman's side, protecting his little _tomate_ but someone had to fight the remaining demons.

To say that the Baltic Trio were no match for the Italian and Germanic angels was an understatement, coupled with the fact the these angels were protecting family, the two angels did not even break a sweat although it had to be said the Baltic Trio did not put up much of a fight and they were soon restrained.

"That was less of a challenge than I'd hoped," Romyurasu commented. Rutovu~ihi shrugged.

"They're here under duress," he replied. "I doubt their hearts were really in this fight and they're not the strongest demons in Hell. Iwan's the real threat here."

"Time to deal with him then," U~Orufugangu said.

Then there was the sound of a gun shot!

 **There I go with the cliffhangers again! We know Iwan had the gun and was aiming at Āsā! Did he shoot Āsā? Did he shoot anyone? Did he miss? You have to wait for next week to find out, I'm afraid.**

 **To Kirascribbler – So happy you're enjoying this and you get another chapter after this one :)**

 **To Scarlet Phantom** **– Yeah! If there's anything guaranteed to make Berwald go all Viking, it's hurting Tino and he did manage to get a blow in, even if Iwan did get the upper-hand. Well, the angels and demons in this story can die again although where they'd go to, I'm not sure! AND WHY DID YOU TELL ME ABOUT HETALIA! WORLD TWINKLE EP 11! I haven't seen that series yet so I watch the episode online and now I'm a blubbering mess DAVIE! T_T And Writer's Block! I feel your pain! D:**

 **To themusicalcat** **– Yup! Iwan's the all-round baddie! :C Who will die? Now that would be telling, although (and this might be confusing) people will both die and be saved O_o (you'll understand next week unless you can guess before then) And next week, plenty of people will need hugs! :'(**

 **To ArtemisIsis13 – I don't think this chapter will have done your blood pressure any favours either :P The poor restaurant! I think many might miss it. Or will they? ;) Ha, ha, yeah! You have to remember that Sweden used to be a Viking, not something you mess with! DX Everybody needs a hug, except Iwan! He needs a kick in the …... never mind! I think if I saw a flying frying pan, I'd faint too O.O Hmm, the priest! I can't give a clue without giving it away but you'll soon see! And as you can see, it's not the Nordics but I can tell you it's not Pītā either but let's just say it's someone with clout. Feri would like the idea of being the boyfriend of an angel but the boyfriend of a demon! Let's see how Rōman handles that, especially in view of what going to happen! ...Oops! I've said too much! And now the battle's well and truly under way and it's about to end badly. Or well! Wait and see! XP**

 **To Pandoala – Don't worry about it! All reviews wherever or whenever are welcome! :) The Evil One won't have to do anything because * spoiler alert * Iwan's going to screw up rather badly :O. As all the angels and demons were humans in life, I kind of thought they would be tolerate and less judgemental about Humanity's little foibles and, as you say, they're meant to be beings of light. Besides, I can't stand the Fire-and-Brimstone set so I made them all a little more human. It also made it possible for certain demons to be saved, all very ironic because I'm not very religious XP**

 **The last chapter is definitely the last one and it's nearly done! Have the tissues handy because I was crying just writing it but then again, that could be just me, however you have been warned!**

 **So till then,**

 **Hasta la Pasta!**

 **P.S. Please forgive grammatical errors, this was put up quickly! I'll correct any errors at a later date!**


	12. VolXII

**YES! I DID IT! This story is finished and just in time! Ready for the last chapter? Be warned , I was in tears when I was writing this so hankies at the ready...**

 **I do not own Hetalia!**

 _ **Demonic Romeo Vol XII**_

Arufureddo looked down at his chest to see blood spreading over the side of his suit where the bullet had gone in when he put himself between his pistol and Āsā. Although the bullet had not gone through his heart, it was close enough to be a mortal wound. He looked up at Iwan with one last look of defiance before his strength began to fail and he fell to his knees, then falling backwards to be caught by Āsā,

"NO!" Āsā cried, holding Arufureddo's head against his chest. "No, no, no, no! Oh please, no!" Iwan looked on in amusement.

"It's looks like you'll end up like Romeo and Juliet after all, da?" he commented and aimed Arufureddo's pistol at Āsā. Āsā closed his eyes and waited for the pain of a bullet entering his body but the bullet never came. As Iwan began to squeeze the trigger, he was suddenly ploughed into by something that hit him from the side and the pistol was knocked from his grasp and into some shrubbery. Iwan landed on the ground and looked up at Rutovu~ihi who, seeing Arufureddo being shot and Āsā about to be, despite his injuries, had come to his colleague and his demon lover's rescue. It had cost Rutovu~ihi to attack Iwan but he could not allow Āsā to be killed.

Iwan stood up as Rutovu~ihi did his best to stand firm although the collision had taken some of his strength. Without the pistol, Iwan went back to his pipe and moved to confront Rutovu~ihi.

"You should have stayed out of the fight, arch-angel," he said. "You might have live longer!" In the background, Ferishiāno tried to get to Rutovu~ihi but was being held back by both Romyurasu and Rōman to keep him out of danger.

"Stay here, idiota," Rōman ordered.

U~Orufugangu was not so restrained and went to assist his grandson face off against one of Hell's most powerful demons while, nearby Āsā tried desperately to stem the flow of blood from Arufureddo's wound.

"Hold on, Arufureddo!" he begged, holding part of his robe against the bullet wound and holding the demon tightly while the fight with Iwan began to unfold. U~Orufugangu swung his sword and Iwan blocked it with his pipe and swung the pipe at U~Orufugangu who ducked and it whizzed over his head. Rutovu~ihi had summoned his own sword and was bringing it down on Iwan's head who dodged and slammed his pipe into Rutovu~ihi's side, breaking already damaged ribs and Rutovu~ihi gave a cry of pain and went down, leaving U~Orufugangu to face Rutovu~ihi alone. U~Orufugangu lunged at Iwan who dodged to one side and brought his pipe down on U~Orufugangu's leg.

Hard!

The breaking bone was audible and made everyone but Iwan cringed and U~Orufugangu fell to the floor in pain. Rutovu~ihi struggled to his feet but he was in no condition for a fight but he could not let Iwan win without one but Iwan slammed the tap end of his pipe into Rutovu~ihi's stomach and he almost went down again.

"Time to die, arch-angel," Iwan said, turning his weapon to aim the pipe end at Rutovu~ihi.

"RUTOVU~IHI!" Ferishiāno screamed and broke loose of his grandfather and brother, running to Rutovu~ihi and throwing himself over him, shielding him with his body, just as Iwan thrust the pipe toward Rutovu~ihi.

Ferishiāno's back arched as Iwan's pipe broke the skin and went in deep. The pain was so intense that Ferishiāno was rendered silent while Romyurasu and Rōman screamed at the sight. Iwan pulled the pipe from Ferishiāno's back but there was no look of triumph on his face. Instead Iwan looked shocked. And scared!

Rutovu~ihi held Ferishiāno in his arms and, despite the broken ribs, bored the wounded Italian to the ground. Ferishiāno was gasping in pain as blood almost poured from the injury in his back. Romyurasu and Rōman ran to Ferishiāno's side but there was no doubt that Ferishiāno was dying.

"Idiota fratello!" Rōman cursed, tears already falling from his eyes as they were from Romyurasu's. "Why did you do that?"

"Ve~ I couldn't let Rutovu~ihi die!" Ferishiāno said between gasps of pain. "I love him too much!" Rutovu~ihi held the dying Italian as close as he could to him.

"Ich liebe dich auch, meine Liebe!" Rutovu~ihi replied in a broken voice. _(I love you too, my Love!)_.

"Nyet!" Iwan shouted. "Nyet! He can't die! He can't!" But the light was beginning to fade from Ferishiāno's eyes.

"I love you, fratello!" he said. "You too. Nonno! I wish I had had more time with you, Rutovu~ihi!" Romyurasu hugged his dying grandson.

"You'll have all the time in the world, Feri!" he promised but got no response. He pulled back and looked at Ferishiāno but Ferishiāno was gone, his beautiful amber eyes dulled by death and he was unnaturally still. As Romyurasu closed Ferishiāno's eyes, Rōman wailed his grief.

With that cry of human suffering, the sky turned red.

"NYET!" Iwan screamed.

* * *

Yao looked up as the sky turned crimson, Tino looking up as well as he sat with Berwald who had regained consciousness. All fighting came to a halt as everyone, angel and demon alike stared at the sky's suddenly strange colour. Rūkasu and Matiasu looked at each other and then stared at the sky. Erizavu~eeta and Feliks gazed through the trees at the scarlet light and Girubāto, Mashū , Ansonī and Furanshisu knew something big had happened and went looking for Arufureddo.

* * *

Iwan, for the first time since becoming a demon, was panic-stricken. Why had the stupid human leaped in front of his victim and taken the death blow? Iwan was in trouble now! He had killed an uncorrupted and Hell would be furious about it. The sky turning red meant that emissaries would come and Heaven would make it's demand. Whatever Heaven demanded, Hell would have to pay and it would be taken out of Iwan's hide.

There was a roar of flames and when they faded, Vladimir stood in their midst and he looked around at the scene. Arufureddo was lying in Āsā's arms, still alive but he would not be for long while Rutovu~ihi, Romyurasu and Rōman wept and kept vigil over Ferishiāno's body and helping U~Orufugangu. There were sounds of flapping as Mashū and the rest of The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto flew into the horrific scene.

"NO!" Mashū screamed, immediately going to Arufureddo's side as the American demon struggled for breath. Girubāto went to comfort his bruder and help his grandfather while Ansonī tried to do the same for Rōman but the distraught Italian shook him off and glared at him with a look of hate.

"This is your fault, you demonic bastard," he spat through his tears. "If you hadn't come into our lives, my fratello would still be alive." All the other times Rōman had swore at him and called him names, Ansonī had just laughed it off but this time, it hurt him to the core. Maybe because, deep down inside, he believed Rōman was right! And Rōman would never forgive him!

Furanshisu went to Arufureddo's side but he knew there was nothing he could do except be with his friend until the end and try to comfort Arufureddo's brother and lover. But who would comfort him?

Iwan knew Vladimir had been sent as Hell's representative to hear Heaven's demand for this transgression of the rules and he tried to plead his case, hoping that he could talk his way out of the punishment that would be his if Hell decided he was at fault.

"The human was not my target!" he said, desperately. "He threw himself between me and the arch-angel. He wasn't the one I was trying to kill, I swear.!"

"You brought the Vargas Brothers into the fight!" Vladimir responded. "Therefore, you were responsible for anything that happened to them and now one has died at your hands. An untainted soul, an uncorrupted! Hell now has to forfeit something to Heaven and you, Iwan, must pay the price of what Heaven demands. Pray Heaven doesn't demand much."

"I've always hated a battlefield," a new voice said and everyone turned to look at an old priest, walking toward them. Arufureddo, through his pain, recognised the priest from the church as he stopped by Ferishiāno's body and lay a gentle hand on his head.

"Rest now, my son!" he said, simply and placed a hand on the shoulders of Romyurasu and Rōman.

"Don't despair!" he told them and gave a soft smile to Rutovu~ihi. "Everything happens for a reason!" Then he stood up and went to Arufureddo and Āsā as the British angel held his dying lover. Furanshisu made way for the priest as he knelt beside them. The priest put his hand against Arufureddo's cheek.

"You remember what I told you?" the priest asked him. "Heaven has not abandon you yet, my son." Then he cupped Āsā's tear stained cheek with his other hand. "Have faith, child! This is not over yet!" He stood up again and, this time, walked toward Vladimir and, as he walked, he began to glow and grew brighter with every step until he was nothing but bright light that did not harm the eyes to look at. Everyone stared and Vladimir bowed his head in respect while Iwan began to panic.

The Divine One was representing Heaven in this. This would not end well for Iwan if God himself was taking an interest.

"My Lord!" Vladimir said, bowing his head. (Even demons gave respect to the Almighty). "Hell waits to make restitution for the transgression against Heaven. Please! Tell me what you wish us to forfeit!" The light pulsed as God spoke.

"I will not make unreasonable demands on Hell," he said. "Hell has respected the rules between us for millennia now so I will ask for only what I believe to be fair. I wish for all the souls Iwan acquired by trickery to be released back to those who once possessed them." A gasp went up from all who heard what God had said. It was a huge demand but, in the circumstances, not unreasonable. Vladimir nodded as if he had been expecting it while Iwan willed him to try to negotiate for a smaller recompense, even though Hell had no choice but to pay up.

"Agreed!" Vladimir replied and looked at Iwan, almost in sympathy. Iwan had worked very hard at acquiring souls. Hell was about to lose a great many demons and would not be happy with Iwan.

* * *

Some of the demons on the battlefield began to feel strange and their wings dried out and began to crumble as did their tails and horns. Edo~uarudo, Toriumu and Raivis felt the chains around them go slack as their wings lost substance and crumbled. The chains fell away as they stood up and they began to feel something they had not felt in a long time.

Life!

* * *

Girubāto, Ansonī and Furanshisu looked on in amazement at each other as their wings turned to dust and blew away on the breeze along with their tails and their horns became ashes in their hair as they turned back into humans. Living breathing humans!

"Awesome!" Girubāto summed it up for everyone while U~Orufugangu reached up and pull his newly-redeemed grandson down into a hug but then they all turned to Arufureddo. Arufureddo's wings were crumbling as well, his horns fell apart and his tail turned to dust. But then his hair began to be change colour, the black fading away, leaving sun-kissed locks in its wake. The black drained down to the tips and disappeared, making Arufureddo look even more angelic in Āsā's eyes.

But one thing that did not vanish was the gun-shot wound. Arufureddo was still dying and nothing could stop it. Not even becoming a living human being again.

Vladimir once again bowed to God.

"Hell will make sure that this transgression doesn't happen again, My Lord," he said. "I take my leave now. Iwan, you come with me!" Iwan knew what awaited him in Hell and began running. Vladimir snapped his fingers and fire surrounded the fleeing figure of Iwan, taking him to Hell to face what was awaiting him.

Vladimir bowed to the Divine One again and fire surrounded him and took him away.

"Please, My Lord!"

Āsā's quiet and respectful but grieving voice addressed the light and it moved toward him and the dying Arufureddo.

"What do you ask of me, my son?"

"Arufureddo is still dying," Āsā replied. "Please, can you save him?" If it was possible for light to looked saddened, this light managed it.

"Arufureddo is a mortal now," God said. "I gave Humanity free will to make their own decisions and mistakes but it means I cannot interfere with what happens to them. It's Arufureddo's time as it was Ferishiāno's. Not even I can change that!" Āsā brought his head down to Arufureddo's and began weeping harder.

"It's all right!" Arufureddo whispered and brought his hand up to stroke Āsā's face. "I'm not a demon any more. I'll die free of that taint. I only regret that I'll be leaving you but I'm still glad I met you, Āsā! Finding you, loving you saved my soul and I could never regret that!" He turned his gaze to his brother. "Mashū! Tell Girubāto I said that he better do right by you!" Mashū, too grief-stricken to speak, just nodded and brought his head down to touch Arufureddo's. Arufureddo coughed and it became harder to breathe. "I want one last thing!"

"Anything, Arufureddo!" Āsā whispered back. "Just ask!"

"Kiss me, one last time!"

Āsā bit back a sob and stroked the side of Arufureddo's face, lowering his mouth to Arufureddo's. Their lips touched softly and then with more pressure. It was sweet, sad and poignant and then came the moment when Āsā felt the life leave Arufureddo's body. He broke the kiss, looking down at Arufureddo's face. He looked peaceful and serene with a small smile but he was still. Too still!

Mashū put his hand over his mouth as if to contain all the grief that overflowing in him. Āsā could not contain it and began sobbing as his heart shattered and he rocked Arufureddo's body back and forth like a mother rocking a baby, a similar action being performed by Rōman with Ferishiāno only a few feet away. Girubāto went to Mashū and pulled the angel into his arms and held him tight as the angel wept on to his shoulder. Furanshisu wrapped his arms around both Āsā and Arufureddo and wept for his friend and vowed to look out for his friend's love, although how he could do that when he was now human and Āsā was an angel, he did not know but he would find a way.

Ansonī knew that Rōman might reject his comfort but he did what Furanshisu was doing, wrapping his arms around both Rōman and Ferishiāno and holding them both and, predictably, Rōman struggled against the contact.

"Let go of us, you bastard!" he yelled. "I don't want you touching me or my brother!" Despite now being human and no longer having a demon's strength, Rōman could not shake Ansonī off.

"I know you hate me now," Ansonī said, keeping a tight hold on the wriggling Italian. "But I'm going to stay with you through this. We've both lost people we love. I've lost my friend and you've lost your brother! Please, don't shut me out! I love you, Rōman! Please forgive me, I can't lose you too!"

"Ve~ Forgive him, fratello!"

Everyone turned to Ferishiāno's body where the voice had come from but it was still a corpse. Then out of Ferishiāno's dead hand emerged another one. It was followed by an arm and then a copy of Ferishiāno's body emerged from the corpse but this body had beautiful white wings and wore a white toga. The clone stood up and looked back down at everyone, pointing to the corpse.

"Ve~ You can put my body down now," Angel Ferishiāno said. "I'm not there, any more!" Romyurasu stood and swept his angel grandson into a big hug as Ansonī made Rōman gently put Ferishiāno's corpse down on the ground. Rutovu~ihi stood up and, when Romyurasu was finished with his hug, pulled Ferishiāno into one of his own.

"I should have known," he muttered. "You could only become an angel. You're too pure to be anything else." Rutovu~ihi was pulled away from Ferishiāno by Rōman who latched on to his fratello and tried to hug him to death.

"Stupido!" he cursed. "Don't ever do that to me again, idiota!" Ferishiāno hugged his brother back. And then he saw Ansonī over Rōman's shoulder, looking lost in the world.

"Forgive Ansonī," Ferishiāno begged. "It was my time. You know you love him and he'll need your help to settle back in the world! Please! Try to do it for me, fratello!" Rōman bit his lip and finally nodded. He did not know if he could but, for Ferishiāno, he would try.

Āsā continued to rock Arufureddo's body while he squeezed his eyes shut to try to prevent more tears from escaping although it was not doing a very good job. Then he felt a hand touching his cheek and he looked to see an arm protruding out of Arufureddo's body. Mashū gasped as he looked and watched as a copy of Arufureddo emerged, sporting a pair of magnificent wings and wearing a one shouldered robe emerged from the dead body. Āsā lay the corpse gently down and stood up to stare at Angel Arufureddo.

"How …..?" was all that Āsā could say. Mashū broke from Girubāto and swamped his brother in a massive hug.

"I don't care how!" he declared. "I only care that it has!" Arufureddo returned his brother's hug.

"I knew you would be a beautiful angel," Āsā commented and Arufureddo released his brother and swept Āsā into his arms.

"My last memory was your kiss," he said and swooped in for another one. Āsā clung to him as Arufureddo claimed his mouth but all too soon the kiss had to end. Āsā reached over Arufureddo's shoulder to touch the beautiful plumage.

"How did this miracle happen?" he breathed.

"I wasn't going to free these souls just to lose them again," Everyone turned back to the light and could believe that they forgot that God was still there. "You all have a second life or a second chance. What you do with them is up to you. Please use them wisely!" The light gave a brief flash and then vanished.

"What do we do now?" Furanshisu asked.

"You live," Romyurasu replied, taking U~Orufugangu's weight and helping to his feet with Rutovu~ihi's help. "And we watch over you!"

* * *

 _Six months later ….._

The Higher-ups in Heaven found places for the redeemed demons in the world but returning Rōman proved problematic as rumours began to circulate that maybe the explosion was a deliberate attempt at insurance fraud, despite the fact that the restaurant had been very successful before the explosion. Such was the way of malicious gossip and the police wanted to talk to the missing Vargas Brothers so Heaven pulled out all the stops.

Memories were altered and the explosion never happened! The restaurant had merely closed for renovation and the restaurant was repaired. The _Ceilo Italiano_ reopened with additional staff, a new Spanish manager, French, Prussian descent, Estonian, Lithuanian and Latvian waiters joined the staff and all the regular diners were happy their favourite eating place was open again. The only sad part was the death of the younger Vargas Brother. The Vargas Brothers had taken a holiday while the restaurant was being renovated and Poor Ferishiāno had been killed in a freak accident. No one knew the details and no one thought to ask but many attended his funeral, proving how well loved he was.

The restaurant had many new regular customers after its reopening. Rutovu~ihi would come in with an invisible Ferishiāno to visit their brothers, Ferishiāno was now a guardian angel for Girubāto and Rutovu~ihi was supervising him as he was new to the job. Āsā would also come as he was still guardian angel to Rōman and he was accompanied by Arufureddo who had been appointed guardian angel for Furanshisu and Mashū, no longer having Ferishiāno to watch over, was re-allocated and now watched over Ansonī. Feliks watched over Raivis and he and Toriumu were very happy with that arrangement because if he had been assigned to Toriumu, they would not be able to date. Erizavu~eeta was now Toriumu's guardian and Edo~uarudo was watched over by Tino. With Berwald hovering in the background!

Ferishiāno was in the kitchen, chatting with Rōman with Ansonī chopping vegetables nearby and being ribbed by Furanshisu while Rutovu~ihi talked to Girubāto. Āsā and Arufureddo could not help but laugh as Rōman said, "If you've got nothing better to do, Wine Bastard, go wash the dishes!"

"He hasn't changed, has he?" Arufureddo said, still chuckling. Āsā grinned.

"I don't think he ever will!" he declared. "He'll always be irascible and foul-mouthed. And I don't think Ansonī would have it any other way." Ansonī was trying cuddle Rōman and getting smacked upside the head and told to get back to it but it did not stop Ansonī grinning. Frequent visits from Ferishiāno had helped Rōman forgive Ansonī and the two were growing close again.

Arufureddo wrapped his arms around Āsā and held him tight, smiling down at his lover.

"To think six months ago, I was a demon," he said. "Now I'm a guardian angel with a terrific boyfriend! I never thought a miracle would ever happen to me!" He leant down and claimed Āsā's lips. Āsā clung to Arufureddo and gave a moan of disappointment when it stopped.

"I guess the Romeo and Juliet story can have a happy ending after all," he replied and they kiss again.

* * *

Furanshisu looked at all of the _L'amour_ that was going on around him. Feliks and Toriumu gazing at each other, Rōman and Ansonī doing their own brand of flirting with each other, Girubāto was cooing over his Birdie, Rutovu~ihi and Ferishiāno could not get closer and then there was Āsā and Arufureddo. Their romance had lead to them regaining their human lives and gave them another shot at Heaven. Furanshisu did not intend to let this chance pass him by and make another silly mistake like last time, although he rather doubted he would meet Iwan again any time soon. Or at all!

All the love on display was making Furanshisu feel somewhat lonely so he went back out into the dining area to see if any more diners had come in that he could serve. A young woman sat in the corner with her head down and her shoulders slumped. Furanshisu knew enough to know someone who had been stood up and it made him sad to see this girl so brought down.

"Mademoiselle?"

The girl's head came up and the breath caught in Furanshisu's throat. She was the living image of his wife! The short, wavy blonde hair and the blue eyes that were awash with tears yet to fall but it could not be his beloved wife, she had died many years ago but still …...

"Can I help you, mademoiselle?" he asked, trying to breath properly. "You seem to be a little … down!" The girl gave a watery smile.

"Not unless you know where my date might have gone to," she replied, drily.

"Désolé," Furanshisu said. "But I can tell you whoever it is, is a fool to pass up the chance to spend time with a lovely lady like you." The woman gave a self-deprecating chuckle.

"Not lovely enough, apparently," she muttered. Furanshisu sat down beside her.

"You are for me!" he declared and took her hand. "My name is Furanshisu! And what do I call you, lovely lady?" The girl finally gave a genuine smile.

"My name is Jeane!"

* * *

Vladimir stood on the roof of the building opposite, looking down at the restaurant below. Everything had worked out well. Iwan had become too powerful, powerful enough to challenge Vladimir's position as the Lord of Hell, even though very few knew who the Lord of Hell was. Vlad or Lucifier as the Lord of Hell was known, quite often wandered Hell as the quiet unassuming demon known as Vladimir. He saw things that his denizens would never show him if they knew who he really was and he knew that Iwan's ultimate goal would have been to become Lord of Hell. He was that type.

Losing all those demons did not upset him as much as many might suspect. Sure, losing them angered him but it was a small price to pay to bring Iwan down. Besides, all the demons Iwan created came with a touch of Heavenly Light within them, something that did not belong in the heart of a demon.

Vlad/Lucifer took one more look at the restaurant and knew that none of the redeemed demons would ever be corrupted again as they were forewarned but there were plenty of other fish in the sea, people willing to sell their souls for less altruistic things as it was now against the rules to accept a soul to save a life. That loophole had been closed forever.

But now to work! There was an ex-demon in the punishment pits, awaiting his special attention!

* * *

Kiku finally made his way up to bed! Finishing the final draft had taken longer than he thought and it was now very late. Arthur must be fed up of waiting for him by now. He pushed the bedroom door opened.

"Gomen'nasai, Arthur," he apologised. "I did not expect the draft to take ….." Kiku stopped at the sight of his fiancé, eyes closed, surrounded by all his volumes of _Demonic Romeo_ , the last one still in his hand as he breathed lightly in and out. He looked so peaceful and Kiku smiled as gathered the volumes up and put them on the bedside table in a tidy pile. He dressed for bed and climbed in beside Arthur, pulling the blankets up to cover him and Arthur. Then he lightly kissed Arthur's cheek.

"Good night, my angel," he whispered and turned off the bedside lamp.

 **And that's that! There have been times during this story when I've been so blocked, I've been ready to throw in the towel but I persevered and I made it to the end. I'd like to thank everybody who read, favourited and followed and I'd definitely like to thank everyone who reviewed! Without your encouragement I think I would have given up so without you, this story might not have made it to the end so give yourselves a big pat on the back and a big box of virtual cookies (::) (::) (::) (::)**

 **To themuscialcat** **– No, you can't have Poland without ponies :P Don't worry, Iwan's sins have caught up with him I think everybody needed hugs at one point. But all's well that ends well! :)**

 **To Scarlet Phantom** **– Okay! I forgive you! (sob) No, it wasn't good news at all! I don't know if Hell froze but I bet Iwan got a frosty reception :( And this is Romeo and Juliet! With a happy (ish) ending! :D**

 **To Pandoala** **– You're welcome! I'm happy that you like it and I hope the last chapter lived up to your expectations! :)**

 **To ArtemisIsis13** **– I hope you've stopped screaming now! :P Everyone's fighting and with Berwald and Tino involved, the other Nordics were inevitable. The Vargas reunion was always going to be a tender moment and Feliks and the ponies! Had to happen! :D I heard of Warehouse 13 but I never seen it. I made it No 13 simply because it's meant to be unlucky (not in my experience but each to their own) The Nordics might have hunted Iwan down if a certain event hadn't happened and scenarios involving gunshots are never reassuring DX and this one was no exception and I think you know about the priest now O.O Iwan's in no position to harm your blood pressure any more. I hope you enjoyed the ending and I hope I made you cry! (That just sounds so wrong!)**

 **And that's the end of another story! I'm not sure what I'll be writing next so it might be a while before I post another multi-chapter story but I will try to write some one-shots in the meantime. I'm already working on a final chapter of Vee~ and I'm thinking up ideas for a Halloween story so stay tuned!**

 **Hasta la Pasta!**


End file.
